The Long Nights of Rodney McKay & Jennifer Keller
by RoryFaller
Summary: A series of stories discussing various nights during the life of Rodney and Jennifer. McKeller.
1. The Stormy Night

**Stargate characters are the property of MGM. **

**Spoilers: Nothing specific. Some time in early Season 5**

**A/N: My first hand at a smutty story. Reviews appreciated. Thanks to my beta 2Harts for this.  
**

* * *

"Why can't you fly the jumper to the camp?" Rodney McKay whined once more. "Come on, two miles over a mountainside to get to them. What the hell is so special in that valley?"

Colonel John Sheppard bit back his initial reply because Doctor Jennifer Keller was with them. "As I told you for the hundredth time, _Rodney_, _your_ botanists wanted to be in that valley because of the plants there. Besides, it's not a mountain."

"Hey, I'm from western Canada. I know mountains when I see them and those are mountains," the scientist said with conviction, "besides, they are not _my_ botanists."

Jennifer stifled a laugh. They had been bickering the entire trip from Atlantis like two little boys. _Teyla said they were like siblings. I can definitely see that now._ There was a team of five botanists and four Marines encamped on this planet collecting samples and studying unique plants. They were having problems with their communications console and Doctor Parrish thought he was sick. Colonel Sheppard was going to leave them as close to the camp as possible, barely two miles away. They would spend the day checking in and remove Doctor Parrish if need be. _It was a simple walk in the woods._

* * *

Atlantis's CMO should know that _simple_ and _Pegasus_ never goes together. She found herself huddled in a portable shelter with Rodney. The shelter was little more than four walls, a ceiling, floor, a small alcove with a portable toilet and some crates of supplies. On their way back from checking on everyone, a torrential rain began which soaked them within minutes. Rodney called back to camp and was told the river near the base camp was rising rapidly and the team had to move into shelters like theirs. Apparently these rain storms come frequently, so the shelters were put in place all around the valley. They also found out that Atlantis called saying Sheppard would not be back until morning because the storm was settling in for the night. They were leaning against a wall shivering. There were survival supply crates lining the walls, but Jennifer was too cold and wet to move.

"T-t-there a-a-are b-b-blankets," the freezing woman managed after a few minutes through chattering teeth.

Hearing the woman he loved in distress, Rodney found strength to move to the containers and find a blanket. "I only f-f-f-found one," he also chattered back. "The others must have been taken."

Realizing his jacket was dripping water; he took it off to reveal a dry black t-shirt. Unfolding the blanket he sat close to Jennifer and pulled the blanket around them. The physician glanced up in surprise as she felt his arm slide around her shoulders tucking her against his side. It definitely increased her temperature.

"B-b-better?" he asked as his pulse and breathing also increased. Noticing that her jacket was soaked, too, he said, "Let's get this off."

"O-o-okay," Jennifer could not stop shivering and knew from med school 101 that she needed to get off her wet coat and pants. The thought of being in this particular man's arms under a blanket in only a t-shirt and panties sent a wave of heat through her. Shifting position, Rodney unzipped her jacket brushing against her breasts and bare arms in the process causing Jennifer to gasp.

"Is something wrong?" Rodney asked.

"N-n-no," the flustered doctor could not control her reaction to being wrapped in his arms again. The feel of her bare arms brushing his sent shocks like electrical currents throughout her body causing her to continue to shiver.

"Body heat helps, right?" the physicist questioned while having his own reactions. His pants were soaked and the cold was seeping through but even that could not keep him from getting aroused. Her trembling continued, so he pulled her closer and began to rub his hands up and down her back and arms.

"Uh… Ahh… s-s-sure," Jennifer responded tentatively sliding her arms around his waist and noting that his pants were wet causing the blanket to absorb the water. _If the blanket got wet, they would have nothing dry to wrap up in._ The physician remembered the briefing about the planet, which said it got very cold at night.

"R-r-rodney, your p-pants are wet," she managed to get out glancing up at him.

"So are yours." _What is she getting at?_

"They will get the b-blanket wet," her chattering was going away because of his warmth. The shivering was continuing but that had everything to do with his rubbing of his hands over her upper body.

"Right, so…" The resident super genius could not continue the sentence. Just thinking about sitting near this beautiful woman who haunted his dreams in only his boxers sporting the biggest hard-on he ever had was not appealing.

"So, they should come off," the young doctor said amazed that her voice was so calm. Heat was pooling in her lower abdomen at the thought of Rodney's bare legs brushing hers as a blush covered her face. _At least the lighting was low in here._ "We can keep our t-shirts on because they are not too wet. I'm sure the clothing will dry fast. It's made for soldiers, so it needs to."

"We? Your pants need…" Just saying, "your pants need to come off" was too much for him to do. _How was he going to survive this?_ The logical part of him knew they needed the clothing to dry and that they needed to be free of the wet clothing so they could warm up. They were going to be spending the night here after all. His more primal side just said, _Oh yeah, an entire night with Jennifer in her t-shirt and panties. _

_Stop being a prude. You are a doctor. You see men, including Rodney, all the time in boxers. But they don't see me in pink panties and a t-shirt. Oh, God, why did I have to wear the pink ones? _The nervous woman thought.

They both tried to calm themselves with Jennifer pulling her arms back from Rodney so she could shift under the blanket and remove her pants. Lucky for her it was large and covered both of them with a little extra room. _Deep breathes. You can do this. It's dark and your t-shirt is long. You can pull it over your legs._

Rodney held the blanket tight. As much as he wanted to see Jennifer in her panties, he respected her privacy. _Sure_, he told himself, _it has nothing to do with not wanting to make love to her this instant._ "Uh," he groaned out loud.

"What!" Jennifer stopped removing her pants under the blanket.

"Huh."

"Rodney, what's wrong?"

"I don't. I mean… nothing…Uh… Never mind. Just hurry up, so you can hold the blanket for me." The astrophysicist lost all of his higher brain functions when she was around him fully clothed. _What was he going to do now?_ Her bare arm kept brushing against his sending tingling sensations through his body increasing the pressure in his pants.

"Done," she said as she pushed her pants out the bottom of the blanket. "Your turn." Her hands clasped the blanket in front of them as Rodney shifted around pulling his pants off. He took a lot longer than Jennifer.

"You need to lay them out with the jackets so they'll dry," she said after he was finished.

"How am I supposed to do that from under here?"

"You're not, you need to get out. There is also food in the containers that we need to find," Jennifer said in her calm _doctor_ voice as she started to open the blanket. The extremely aroused man grabbed it holding on for dear life.

"I don't want to run around in front of you with only my boxers." Rodney was terrified of how obvious his arousal would be. It already made removing his pants a painful process.

"Well, I've seen you in your boxers many times. Even the more _colorful_ ones."

"This is very sexist of you, you know," the scientist tried to get angry to take his mind off his physical discomfort. "You only want me to do it because I'm the guy."

"Well, you could try to be chivalrous for me. Please," the tired woman smiled at him. It was the first smile in many hours. The trek through the forest from the camp was longer than either of them wanted it to be and took a lot out of her. Not to mention Doctor Parrish was annoying when she was checking on him. He had a minor head cold, but you would think he was dying of a brain tumor. It was funny to watch Rodney berate him for wasting Jennifer's time over the sniffles. _This from the man who comes to me for splinters._

"I… Uh… My back is sore and I'm pretty stiff. I'd rather not get up right now." _Breathe deep. Don't think about the fact that the woman you love is in panties next to you. No. Not working._

Normally when she said _please_ and smiled at him, she got her way but not this time. His fear of her seeing his arousal kept him glued on the spot. The CMO started to get concerned that something really _was_ wrong with him. The threat of a real medical issue got her to act. She shifted so she could kneel next to him. Her soft hands wrapped around his clenched ones holding the blanket shut.

"Rodney, I need to examine you to make sure you are okay. You seem flushed and sweaty. Your breathing is erratic. Did you hurt yourself in some way?"

"No, I did not hurt myself. Please Jennifer, just give me… a minute," he snapped at her. He was getting annoyed that she did not comprehend his physical _problems_. _Surely she must know that any man faced with the possibility of spending the night alone with a gorgeous woman in her underwear causes certain areas of their anatomy to take on a life of their own._ _It's not like she was some innocent just arrived from a backward planet. She was a beautiful woman; she has to know what she's doing to me._

Knowing that he would never refuse medical attention unless it was because of some amazing discovery, the medical doctor decided being tough was called for. Since she was no longer cold due to his nearness, she pulled the blanket from his hands and then pushed his hands down to his side. It was then she noticed the impressive tent in his boxers.

_Oh. My._ She swallowed hard and tried to pry her eyes off the erection Rodney was sporting with no luck. As a female physician, she had faced patients with hard-ons often during her basic medical rotations. It was a hazard of the job. When some men are around women, them get aroused. Since she was taking her clothing off next to Rodney, it must have excited him. It was his embarrassment that kept him from getting up and made him seem ill. _I need to address this like a professional._ She took a deep breath and raised her eyes to his face.

Poor Rodney had never been so humiliated and disgusted with being a man. He watched Jennifer's face turn from shock to a look of annoyance to the calm, detached physician she was during a crisis. His heart plunged to his toes. Now he knew, _she had zero interest in him outside of basic friendship._ _Let me die right now_, he begged whatever deity might be listening.

"You don't have to be embarrassed, Rodney. It's natural for a man to get an erection around a woman who was pressed close to keep warm and we _are_ in our underwear." Her voice was the soothing one she used in the infirmary. _I wish I caused it because he wanted me, but what would the Great Rodney McKay ever want in me?_ "Once you relax you'll be fine."

The "Doctor Voice" tore at his heart. _She's pissed. Of course she's pissed you horny, jerk. She is a beautiful woman who does not want to be viewed as a sex object._ He pushed past her to stand.

"I'm sorry. You're right. It's just a physical reaction. I… I'll… Look for some food." Rodney started opening crates to look for the MRE's.

_There he said it, it was just a physical reaction._ Her heart was breaking. The pain in her chest radiated into her stomach causing it to roil as pressure began to build up in her eyes. _Oh God, please don't let me cry_, but it was too late. The tears formed before she could do anything._ Not again! Why do I fall for men who don't want me for anything but sex?_ Painful memories of her only sexual encounter came rushing back. _You don't mean anything to him. Just like med school all over again. The lies. The bet. The disastrous day after. _The tears began to fall. She tried to muffle the sob in the blanket but it came out anyways.

_Idiot. Why did you think that having meals and hanging out at movie night could mean anything more than friendship? You stupid fool, you thought she might actually like __**you**__._ A sound broke into Rodney's self-loathing like someone crying, which was what _he_ wanted to do. The smartest man in two galaxies turned from staring blankly at the crates to find the woman he loved clutching the blanket tightly around her as she sobbed uncontrollably. She seemed so small and fragile causing him to basically run across the room to her and pull her, blanket and all, onto his lap. He began "shushing" her and stroking her wet hair. Her arms flew around his neck as she buried her head into his shoulder. The sobbing continued.

"Oh Jennifer, I'm so, so sorry," Rodney said into her hair. "Please don't cry. I'm a jerk. Everyone knows that. I never meant for you to feel like… like some piece of meat. I am so sorry I can't control myself around you. Just holding you fully clothed got me so excited I could hardly breath. You in a t-shirt and panties was really too much for me to take. I'm better now. I swear. Please, Jennifer, don't cry. I can't take it if you cry, especially if it's my fault."

Rodney was aware that the sobbing had stopped, but some sniffling continued as Jennifer raised her red, tear-stained face to look at him. The pain in her eyes tore him apart. If he was thinking, the last thing he would have done was something physical, but he stopped thinking a while ago and kissed her.

Jennifer was stunned when Rodney kissed her. His lips pressed firmly against hers for a few seconds, but then softened as they expertly moved over hers. Rodney's hands slid up her back into her hair pulling it from its ponytail. _He's kissing me._ The lonely woman wanted everything from him, but did not think she could offer him much in return.

Rodney poured all the love he felt for Jennifer into his kiss. His passion was in control at first driving him to claim her mouth. Then his love took over and gentled the kiss almost as soon as he made contact with her lips. Tasting the salty tears, he flicked his tongue out to lick them from her lips causing her to moan tightening her arms around his neck, pulling herself out of the blanket and pressing against his body. At the opening of her mouth, his tongue glided over her lips. He was not going to intrude where he was not wanted, so he did not deepen the kiss. After several strokes of his tongue over her lips, he drew back preparing for a slap or worse.

The physician felt empty when his mouth pulled away. She wanted him to deepen the kiss, but was too uncertain to do anything about it. They stayed that way for a while; Jennifer sitting on Rodney's lap with the blanket pooled around her waist and her arms around his neck staring into each other's eyes. The talkative scientist did not know what to say. Dreams of kissing and holding her filled his nights. Even knowing she did not care about him, it was still heaven to hold her this close. Rodney found his voice first.

"I probably shouldn't have done that either," shaking his head but not breaking eye contact, "but I really can't control myself around you."

"Rodney," Jennifer began. She needed to sort out what his conflicting actions meant. She took a deep breath and jumped off the cliff. "You can't control yourself? Why?"

The "why" came out in the quietest most fearful voice that Rodney ever heard from the woman he loved. It was the polar opposite of the confident doctor from earlier. That gave Rodney courage he never knew he had. "Because I have loved you since we first met." _There, I said it. Might as well really go down in flames._

Jennifer stared at Rodney and continued to do so for a while. She must be dreaming. A shiver from the actual cold shook her body. The temperature in the room was dropping as night fell outside.

Rodney did not pull his eyes from her face, which was covered with disbelief and Rodney thought for a second, hope. When she shivered, it again forced him into action. "It's getting cold in here. Should we continue this under the blanket? Uhhh… I mean… continue _talking_ under the blanket?" Rodney shifted the blanket back around her shoulders.

Jennifer nodded stupidly at him. _Rodney McKay loves me? Rodney McKay loves me. Rodney McKay loves me! _As she repeated this phrase her hope began to increase. She did not believe for a second that the honest man she knew and loved was capable of the kind of deceit that creep Tony from medical school was. The astrophysicist's emotions shown over his face and in his eyes all the time. _He sucks at poker or keeping any type of surprise. But why would he love me?_

He looked terrified_. Maybe that's what he looks like when he is in love._ She found her voice and asked, "Why do you love me?"

_What a simple question_, Rodney thought as he answered it right away. "Because you are amazing. You are beautiful, kind, compassionate and as smart as me. You put everyone before yourself to the point that you get sick from caring so much. You are funny, charming and sweet. I loved you the moment we met. When I saw the look of wonder on your face when you first saw Atlantis in the gate room, I felt an instant bond with you. I felt like what I had been waiting my whole life for had arrived. Of course everything went to hell after that with Carson's death and Elizabeth's." Even though they got Carson back, he never spoke of the other Carson with anyone. As for Elizabeth, they were together for that one.

"Oh, Rodney," Jennifer wanted to shout that she loved him too, but thought showing him seemed better. She leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his, moving slowly over his lips like he had just done to her. Suddenly, her inexperience at kissing took away her confidence. Her timidity kept her from doing much more than pressing her mouth to his. Luckily, Rodney took over.

This time, he rubbed his tongue over her lips with every intention of taking what she offered. He captured her lower lip between his teeth, nipped at it causing her to groan and slipped his tongue in to mate with hers as soon as she opened her mouth. _She's so sweet. I could do this forever_. His hands slid down to tug her t-shirt up.

Jennifer groaned again as his slightly calloused hands touched the skin on her back. The twin assault of his tongue and hands caused sensations like nothing she experienced her first time. Her thoughts of that awful experience caused her to stiffen.

Because Rodney got tunnel vision when he was concentrating on something, he was aware of every move that Jennifer made. When she tensed as his hands reached her bra clasp, he pulled his hands back to her waist and dragged his mouth away from hers. _Don't rush it. _He tried to slow his breathing. "Wh-what's wrong?"

"N-nothing. Please don't stop," Jennifer whispered, the lack of oxygen in her lungs making it difficult to talk. She had never felt so aroused. Her breasts ached and the feeling deep inside her was so intense that she had a sense of what Rodney must feel like sporting his erection. She turned to kiss his neck but he pulled her head back to look into her eyes.

Because he loved her, he could not go ahead until he was totally confident that she really wanted to be with him. _She had not seemed affected by my arousal, yet was brought to tears after I told her it was nothing. She was very responsive when I kissed her, but then when she started the second kiss, she seemed uncertain of what to do. Then she tensed as I reached for her bra clasp, but asked me to continue and tried to kiss my neck. _He needed to have all the inconsistencies in her behavior explained before he would continue. "Jennifer… Um… Are you sure you want to do this? I mean we are rushing a bit."

Jennifer knew what was coming and quickly averted her eyes to stare at her hands now resting on his shoulders. _He was going to push her away. She had done something wrong already. _Tears welled up as she closed her eyes. _Stop it. He loves you. _The warring voices in her head were causing her a lot of confusion.

"Jennifer, please look at me," the voice that came from the man next to her was gentler than she could imagine. One hand slipped under her chin to force her head up to look into his eyes. She opened hers to see concern and desire warring for dominance in his.

"I'm sorry. I haven't done this… that often. I didn't mean to do something wrong," her small voice absolutely ripped at Rodney's heart.

"What?" This was the last thing he expected to hear. _She hadn't done this often. What did that mean? _Being taken by surprise did not usually bring out Rodney's best qualities. In this situation however, he reacted with his heart and not his head.

"We don't have to do anything else." He moved as if to shift her from sitting on his lap to sitting next to him. Jennifer clamped down on his arms.

"Please, no! I want to do this. I just had a horrible first time and haven't done it since. With a little patience, I'm sure I'll be fine," Jennifer pleaded. _How did it come to me begging for sex from Rodney?_

Terror gripped Rodney as all color drained from his face. _A horrible first time. What happened to her? _Gathering strength and love from the depths of his heart, Rodney asked her as gently as he could manage, "What happened, sweetheart?"

Jennifer noticed the terror passing over Rodney's face. "No, it wasn't rape or anything like that. I wanted to do it. It was just…" _How do I talk about this with Rodney?_ The concern and love on Rodney's face gave her strength.

"Oh, Rodney, I love you," Jennifer smiled. She was still recovering from the shock of his kisses and caresses as well as his use of the word sweetheart, so she had the courage to tell him how she felt.

After her statement, Rodney swooped down for a gentle kiss and hugged her against his chest. _I must be dreaming._ "I love you, too, Jennifer." He thought he could not stomach hearing about some creep hurting this perfect woman, but her declaration of love gave him strength and he felt it was important to their future for her to tell the story.

Jennifer had never told anyone about it before. Looking into the face of the man she loved with him smiling tenderly at her gave her strength. Averting her eyes to stare at the far end of the shelter, she began, "As you know, I was younger than my classmates by four or five years in medical school. I'd just turned twenty-one when one of my classmates suddenly was very _interested_ in me. He was the first guy to show any real interest in me. _Ever_." Jennifer paused and looked up to see him still staring intently at her. His handsome face still held a smile, but it looked forced.

Rodney could not imagine guys not being interested in the beautiful woman in his arms. _What kinds of idiots go to med school?_ The lovesick man tried to keep a calm expression on his face and a smile on his lips, but anger was building inside the scientist as he steeled himself to hear more of her story. He pulled her tighter to him and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Do you want to stop?" His precious doctor pulled back smiling weakly at him and shook her head.

"No. We had a couple of dates. We ended each with the briefest of kisses. He was a perfect gentleman. He said and did all the things a _stupid_ girl expects from her first boyfriend. Well… I can't really call him a boyfriend. After our fourth date, it was over," her voice got softer as she spoke and finally broke. Rodney pulled her close again. He was battling a growing rage that was causing him to clench his jaw and clutch the fabric of her t-shirt. He kissed her head and buried a hand in her hair. He gently pulled her back so he could see her face, which had tears running down it.

"You don't have to finish…" Rodney started. Jennifer put her fingers over his mouth.

"I need to do this," she whispered. She replaced her fingers with her lips for a quick kiss then continued speaking softly. "I never went to parties at school. One of my roommates was involved in a date rape my third year. Someone put a drug in her drink. It was awful. I was really concerned, so I avoided parties because of that." She moved her eyes away from his face to look at the floor next to where they sat. Then she slid her arms around his waist, placed her head on his shoulder and continued, "Well, this nice guy asked me to go with him, so I thought nothing awful would happen."

A sense of dread filled Rodney and he tightened his hold on her as small tremors passed through her petite body. One of his hands stroked her hair gently and the other rubbed circles on her back. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head again. Rodney took a very deep breathe when she began again with a voice devoid of emotion.

"It was not date rape because I did want to sleep with him. I only had two beers so I was not drunk just more relaxed. He was handsome and seemed so nice. I felt like I finally fit in. What a stupid fool!"

Rodney pushed her back and stared into her eyes saying, "_Don't ever_ think this was your fault. _Never again!_ You were and still are a beautiful woman who deserves moonlight and roses. You should be treated like a queen and should _never_ stand for less." He tightened his hands slightly on her upper arms as Jennifer felt a tremor pass through him noticing for the first time the anger that was bubbling below the surface. A feeling of security passed over her. She smiled slightly and leaned back onto his shoulder knowing he would protect her.

"I thought it would be romantic. I thought… it only lasted about ten minutes. We didn't take our clothes off even. He only lowered his pants and pushed my dress up. He had me turn around, so I couldn't even see his face. I was staring at a bunch of porn movie boxes. He was finished quickly. He… he…" Saying it out loud, it sounded even worse than experiencing it. Jennifer was terrified to see Rodney's reaction.

Rodney had never wanted to kill anyone before he came to Atlantis. When Kolya attacked Atlantis, Rodney had his first taste of wanting to murder someone. Hearing his sweet Jennifer's story had him vowing to kill this bastard with his bare hands if they ever met. Jennifer had buried her head into his chest as she told the last part of her story. He imagined she would be too embarrassed to look at him and he wanted her to get it out, so he did not pressure her. He slowly pushed her back from his chest.

"Jennifer, thank you for telling me," Rodney took a deep breath to steady his voice, " I can promise you that if we ever take our relationship to that level that I will not hurt you. I also promise that we won't get there without you being one hundred percent certain it's what you want to do."

"T-t-thanks," she continued quietly, "He walked me back to my apartment near the frat house after. I knew something was wrong, but I just wanted to get to my room. The next morning…" Rodney's blue eyes zeroed in on her brown ones. Tears continued to leak out of her eyes and he brushed his thumb over her cheeks. A weak smile from him gave her some added courage to continue. "The next morning, I overheard him collecting on a bet with his friends. I was so embarrassed. I never spoke to him again."

There was more overheard by Jennifer, but she could not discuss it now. _I can't believe I told Rodney. _She had to admit his reaction shocked her and made her realize she had given into everyone's stereotype of Rodney and hated herself for it. "I love you." Jennifer then kissed him deepening the kiss almost instantly.

Rodney fought off the wave of desire as best he could. He was angry and heartbroken for Jennifer. He felt like he was going to explode from all the conflicting emotions. When she kissed him slipping her tongue tentatively into his mouth, it took all his strength he possessed not to give in and push her back making love to her. _Not tonight, pal. Maybe not for a long time._ As Rodney settled Jennifer into his arms so he could take control of the kiss, he heard a sound from outside the structure. He assumed it was the wind blowing stuff around and blocked it out.

* * *

John Sheppard was pissed to say the least. He was forced into this awful rainstorm on this stinking planet to find Rodney in the middle of the night. There was a power issue with the ZPM on Atlantis that only the missing genius could fix. The life signs detector showed two people up ahead on the trail. _They must be in one of those portable shelters._ A sly grin spread over Sheppard's face thinking of his best friend spending the night in a small hut with the woman he loves. Of course, Rodney would never admit it, but John saw all the signs.

When John pounded on the door and got no response, he pushed it open. The sight before the SGA1 leader's eyes caused the jaded soldier to raise his eyebrows and chuckle. He stood in the doorway for an extra moment taking it in. There was clothing strewn around the floor, two jackets, two sets of boots and two pair of pants. Jennifer was cradled on Rodney's lap with a large grey military-issue blanket wrapped around them. They were kissing passionately. They each had a hand buried in the others' hair holding their heads firmly together. He could not see Keller's other hand because it was under the blanket. Rodney's other arm was holding Jennifer's body close to his. He could see their stocking clad feet and some bare legs sticking out of the blanket. There were some interesting sounds coming from the two of them. The Colonel had few opportunities to truly humiliate his friend and decided not to use this one. Rodney really did deserve some happiness and the Team leader was sure Jennifer could provide it. He stepped back and closed the door without disturbing them.

A loud banging and shouting of 'McKay' and 'Keller' pulled them out of their passion-induced haze. "Oh, no. Sheppard!" Rodney blanched at the thought of John seeing them in this condition. "We gotta get dressed and fast!"

TBC


	2. The Romantic Night

**MGM owns all characters. **

**Spoilers: Nothing specific**

**A/N: Thanks to the reviewers for keeping me going. Thanks to 2Harts, dwparsnip and Varda for support. **

**Varda, I'm splitting up the Romantic Night and the Steamy night so you can skip this one and wait for the Steamy Night. But there is some Rodney Whump just for you! :P**

* * *

Rodney McKay was tied up for forty-eight hours resolving the power fluctuation issue that sent John Sheppard out to find him in the middle of the storm. Other than Jennifer bringing some food to him and Zelenka during those two days, they did not see each other. He felt bad because they had to pull their clothing on quickly before Sheppard opened the door and did not have time to speak about what had happened. The scientist knew his CO thought something was up, but surprisingly said nothing.

As soon as Rodney was able to go to his quarters, he busied himself planning the perfect evening for Jennifer. He checked the Daedalus schedule and found that it was on earth and leaving in three days time for its journey back to Atlantis. _Jennifer would have to wait less than three weeks before she would experience the most romantic evening of her life. _A smug grin filled the genius's face as he drafted an e-mail to his sister asking her to buy a few things for him. Just as he was going to hit send, he realized if someone else read it, he would have a lot of explaining to do. He then took the next couple hours writing an encryption that only Jeannie could break and passed out fully clothed on his bed. The next morning a sudden off-world mission took him out of the City before he and Jennifer even got to sit down for breakfast.

Back on Earth, Jeannie Miller took a couple of minutes to break her brother's encryption. She had been chopping vegetables for lunch as she read the attachment. Five minutes later, her husband, Caleb, was driving her to the emergency room with a towel wrapped around her bleeding hand. She had a silly grin on her face and kept saying, "Oh my God, Mer."

* * *

During the days after Jennifer and Rodney's encounter, the woman's level of insecurity skyrocketed. Because the man she loved did not speak to her about what happened or what was next for them, she had to fill in the blanks with own thoughts. Due to her horrible experience during medical school, the thoughts were not good ones_. I must have turned him off after we kissed. I'm sure he was expecting me to do something to help relieve his erection and I didn't._

She remembered overhearing Tony laughing with his buddies and talking about how he took her virginity. He said having sex with her was like '_screwing a mannequin'_. Those awful words echoed in Jennifer's head, so she threw herself into her work, spending late hours in the lab and signing up for off-world missions to hide her fear.

When Rodney was on Atlantis, they saw each other for a few meals with their friends or a quick coffee. The physicist was relieved that Jennifer was so busy. After their encounter off world, it was impossible to be near her without getting aroused. It was much worse now because he knew what it felt like to hold her in his arms. Remembering the feel of her smooth skin under his hands and her kisses meant he did not use much hot water. Other than a chaste kiss on her lips or cheek as he greeted her in the morning or when they parted in the evening, he did not touch her.

Because Rodney was consumed with planning their romantic evening he did not notice the signs that something was wrong with the woman he loved. When he did eat a meal with Jennifer, she listened to him and said little about herself other than '_I've been really busy_'. Her smile was forced and her eyes were sad, but the clueless man was just happy to get through another day without giving in to his desire to make love to her.

If anyone had told Rodney McKay more than one month ago that he would spend all his spare time fixing up a room on the west pier with a perfect view of the sunset and moon rise to impress the woman he loved, he would have laughed. The love of the beautiful, young doctor had changed the arrogant man immensely. He was relaxed with his team and even had a few laughs with Lorne when he accompanied them a few days ago.

* * *

Zelenka and the scientists could not remember him losing his temper once in the last month. The Czech knew something happened when he was off world with the CMO, but he could get no information out of either of them. Not that he had seen much of Jennifer lately. The usual weekly chess matches between the two had not occurred. Recently, she seemed withdrawn and that made the scientist wonder if his supervisor had the wrong idea. Since he truly liked the young American doctor and his arrogant Canadian boss, he decided to confront her about Rodney during dinner. Team Sheppard was off world, so he had the opportunity to get her alone.

"How is the new lab coming along?" Jennifer asked Radek as she sat across from him for dinner. Once again, Rodney was not there. She began to think she imagined the entire incident with him three weeks ago.

"It is going very well. I don't ever remember Rodney letting us do so much without butting in. He has really changed a lot recently," the Czech said, venturing a look at his beautiful companion's face during his statement.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Jennifer cocked her head and raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"Whenever Rodney is not screaming it is a _very_ good thing. You were not here in the beginning. He was insufferable."

Jennifer usually loved to hear stories of the early years of Atlantis. If she had not wanted a second PhD, she would have been there. Carson Beckett was relentless in his pressure to get her to join him on this project. She had no idea it was in Antarctica or that he went to another galaxy until she finally gave in. Tonight, she had no desire to hear about Rodney McKay. After many days of soul searching, she realized the physicist must have given in to the heat of the moment. He might love her, but it was not much different than the love of Carson or Radek. Perhaps he had wanted to be _friends with benefits_ in that shelter, but obviously changed his mind back on Atlantis. Pressure was building up behind her eyes, so she tried to change the subject.

"Are you heading home on this Daedalus run? I'm thinking of visiting my Dad. I have a lot of vacation time and Woolsey told me I could take it whenever I wanted to."

Something was definitely wrong with his friend, but before he could ask her any questions, she to got a called to the infirmary. His genius mind tried to sort it out, but was interrupted by a call to the control room.

* * *

The Daedalus arrived the next morning and Rodney received his packages from Jeannie. She had sent him a few surprises as well. _Well, everything is ready except to get the girl there._ Rodney took off from his quarters very early the next day. His first stop was the greenhouse, then the mess hall, and then the quarters of the woman he loved.

Jennifer did not want to get out of bed. She had a nightmare where Rodney insulting her to his team the same as Tony in med school. He spoke about her inability to turn him on any longer, which caused her to awake with a start in the middle of the night. _How stupid could I have been to think that Rodney really wanted me? _She did not think she could settle for being just a friend after Rodney awakened the passion that lay dormant in her_. _With a determined mind, the physician dragged herself out of bed to her shower the next morning_. I'm going to confront him today to see if he meant what he said on the planet. I won't let him dodge the subject or run off._ For her piece of mind and sanity, she needed to do this.

After dressing and preparing to get an early start to the day, she opened her door only to find a huge vase of flowers in front of her.

"Oh, Jennifer," a flustered astrophysicist said as he moved the flowers out of the way to see her, "I didn't think you'd be up yet."

The shocked physician stood in her doorway staring at the man who haunted her dreams. _What is he doing here at six-thirty with a bunch of flowers?_ "What are you doing here?"

"I'm… I was going…" Taking a deep breath, Rodney decided to dive in, "I was going to leave the flowers as a surprise."

Jennifer was taken aback. _Flowers? From Rodney?_ "That's really… really nice."

"I was trying for 'nice'," Rodney was suddenly uncertain. Jennifer had a guarded expression on her face. The smile that he loved was missing the joy that was usually behind it. It was a smile he had seen on her beautiful face once before. When she was trying to be brave and tell him about her disastrous first time. _No, that's not right. She's had this smile since you got back from there. Oh no! You screwed up._

Without thinking, he walked into her quarters with the flowers causing her to back up and began talking fast, "Oh, Jennifer, I'm sorry. I've done something wrong, didn't I? No, don't answer. Of course I've done something wrong. I've been trying to plan a perfect evening for us and the Pegasus galaxy is falling apart around us. Either the City is losing power or the Genii are losing their reactors or a Hive is attacking one of our scientific outposts. These last few weeks have been insane. Jennifer, I have _wanted_ to be with you, but everything seems to be against us." He put down the vase on her desk and turned take her hands staring into her eyes pleading with his for her to understand.

She melted under the intensity of his blue gaze boring into her eyes. Seeing him this upset there was no way she could stay mad at him. "I…" she began realizing she was as much at fault as him, "I should have made time to talk to you instead of imagined what was going on in your head."

She stepped away from him to clear her head and tell him what was wrong. "You see the day after my first time I overheard _him_… talking to his friends about how bad I was to have sex with. I just assumed _I_ did something wrong with you while we were kissing and…"

Rodney had her in his arms and was pressing his lips to hers before she could finish her sentence. As soon as he heard her comparing their time together with that disastrous encounter, his protective-possessive side reared its head. Wanting to erase that idea from her head immediately, he deepened the kiss sliding his tongue into her mouth as one hand burrowed into her hair and the other slid around her waist, pulling her against him.

Jennifer was surprised, but happy when Rodney grabbed her. Her tongue began to delve into Rodney's mouth and her arms went around his shoulders. When he pulled her close to him she became aware of his aroused flesh poking into her lower abdomen. A moan came from Rodney as she rubbed herself against him.

"Ahh! We need to stop," the breathless man said ripping his mouth away from hers and burying his face into her hair. "If you are wondering why I've not touched you in any way it's because I can't survive the torture of being near you but not being able to make love to you."

"Rodney, I told you I wanted to," Jennifer looked at him with desire in her tawny eyes. It took more strength of will than Rodney ever thought he possessed not to kiss her swollen lips again.

"After what you told me, I didn't want to rush you. I want _our_ first time together… If you want to... that is... to be perfect. I have been busy planning for our first big date that I forgot about the most important thing. You," a sheepish smile graced his handsome face, "Will you go on a date with me, tonight?"

"Yes, Rodney, I love you." The doctor pulled him into a hug and pressed a kiss to his lips. He pulled back immediately.

Rodney wanted to know she was really sure about this. "We don't have to do anything but have a really nice date."

"Let's see what happens." Jennifer was suddenly giddy with joy. The look in Rodney's eyes filled her with heat. Imagining him planning a date and picking out flowers made her grin even more.

"All right. We need to get some breakfast, so we can get finished with this day." The scientist pulled back from the beautiful medical doctor. "Do you want anyone to know about us? Because I'll be honest, it's really hard for me to keep my hands off you when you are close. That's another reason why I avoided you. As you can see it's blatantly obvious what you do to me." He glanced down.

Jennifer's eyes traveled down to the bulge pressing against his black BDU pants. "Yeah, you stabbed me earlier." She could not hold in her laughter.

"Nice, I have the biggest hard-on in my life and you laugh. I sure know how to pick them."

She swatted at his shoulder and he captured her in a breath-stealing kiss. He slid his hands to her bottom and pulled her up and against his erection. He immediately regretted doing it as he felt her shudder and whimper, which in turn caused him to moan. A moment of weakness caused him to begin moving toward her bed, but his love for her halted his movements.

"Not like this," he growled more to himself as he torn his mouth away from hers again. Jennifer kissed along his jaw to his neck and rubbed suggestively against him. He had to physically push her away. "Tonight. If you want to."

Jennifer could not believe how forward she was. She never initiated even a kiss from a guy before and now she was rubbing her aching body against his. The way Rodney reacted gave her a sense of power over him. _He really is helpless to stop his responses to me. _A sly grin spread over her face. "I only have to wait until tonight?"

"Yeah. I know it will be a _long_ day, but I promise, it will be worth it," Rodney held her away from his body and leaned his forehead against hers.

"I love you," Jennifer said.

"I love you, too," Rodney pulled her back for a quick hug, "Now let's get some breakfast."

The rest of her day was perfect. For breakfast they had waffles with fruit toppings. Jennifer could not remember them ever having that before because waffles with blueberries and whipped cream were her favorite breakfast food. Around the middle of the morning she returned to her office and found a box on her desk with fresh oranges in it. The note said:

**Please do not use when you get mad at me.**

**These are for your enjoyment when I am off world.**

**Love, Rodney**

Jennifer laughed for a long time. At lunchtime, Rodney was leaning against the door frame to her office laughing with Doctor Amanda Cole, Jennifer's second in command. Amanda disliked Rodney because of his obnoxious attitude to the medical staff over the years, but they looked like old friends this morning. As they walked to the mess hall, Rodney tucked Jennifer's hand into his and smiled sweetly. The mess hall had 'build your own burritos' for lunch. Jennifer knew that they had better food for a couple weeks after the Daedalus left but this was a little too much. She glanced at her handsome boyfriend with suspicion. _Yes, I think I can call him my boyfriend._ After a wonderful lunch with their friends, Rodney escorted her back to the infirmary and, in front of her staff and several new Marines he gave her a kiss. It was not a chaste peck on the cheek, nor was it the passionate ones they normally shared. The kiss was meant to let everyone know that they were very much a couple.

Around fifteen hundred hours she got an IM on her tablet from Rodney.

**I will pick you up at eighteen hundred in your quarters.**

**Wear what's in the box on your bed. Please :)  
**

**Love, Rodney**

The lovesick doctor almost ran out of the infirmary to her quarters when her shift was finished at seventeen hundred. There were several boxes on her bed along with a single flower that was similar to a rose on earth. Always one to love surprises, she settled in like it was Christmas morning. In one box was a simple, yet beautiful black dress. It had spaghetti straps and was not too low cut, which was good considering she did not have a strapless bra. The next box contained a pair of black shoes with a small heel. The last box was tightly wrapped with ribbons. After opening she saw this note:

**Please e-mail me the condition of this package when you get it. **

**If this was opened, my nosy brother could not mind his own business. **

**I will send you all the embarrassing pictures I have of him and you can post them on the Atlantis boards.**

**Love, Jeannie**

**madisonsmom(at) yahoo  
**

This box contained the strapless bra she needed as well as matching underwear and nylons._ How the hell did Rodney's sister get my sizes? McKay is going to pay for going through my underwear drawer!_ It was hard to be mad, though. Just the thought of Rodney trying to find her sizes and getting them to his sister made her heart race. He really did plan every detail of this day: flowers, her favorite foods in the mess hall, and clothing for their date. Her love for the man increased ten fold.

There were some soaps and lotions in Jeannie's box as well. Jennifer got the impression that his sister picked this stuff up on her own. Based on all the stories about Jeannie she had heard, she felt a bond with the woman and promised to start an e-mail correspondence with her. _Loving Rodney was going to be a lot of work, so having another shoulder to cry on will be great._

* * *

Rodney had to leave a very important calculation for Radek to finish so he would have time to shower and get dressed for his date. The Czech was in shock, but agreed to finish Rodney's work.

The Head of Science and Research ran through the preparations in his head while he showered: food was ordered, candles from Teyla, dress for Jennifer. Thoughts of Jennifer in the dress he ordered required him to lower the temperature on the shower again. He dressed in a light blue dress shirt with black jacket and pants and spent more time than ever playing with his hair. Grabbing his present for Jennifer, he headed toward her quarters. The physicist ran into Sheppard and Zelenka on the way.

"Well, aren't we dressed up for movie night," his team leader said taking in Rodney's appearance.

"I think he has a date," his second in command said smiling, "He left most of his work for me to do."

"I know you have plenty of time on your hands, Radek," Rodney smiled at them as he stepped around them, lightly punching the Czech's shoulder.

The two men stood staring at the happy man heading toward the end of the corridor.

"Well," Colonel Sheppard said, "looks like he finally made his move with Keller."

"You have noticed his interest in her as well?"

"Hard not to," Sheppard smiled not telling the scientist what he saw on the planet.

"Well he has been pleasant to work with these past few weeks, so I approve," the scientist said. "But if he breaks her heart, he'll have to deal with me."

* * *

Rodney swiped his hand over the door waiting for Jennifer to open it. Once she did, he stood in the hall staring at her. He could not move a muscle except his eyes, which took in the black dress hugging her figure as he expected it to. Her mass of golden hair flowed over her shoulders just begging him to run his hands through it. _I don't think we'll make it out of her room if I step inside._

"Rodney, you look very handsome. I don't know how you got my sizes, but thank you for the beautiful dress. No one has ever gotten me so nice a gift before," Jennifer said as her eyes swept over her Prince Charming. The blue of his shirt brought out his eyes. The cut of his jacket make his shoulders look broader than usual and she only wanted to wrap herself around him kissing him breathless. A desire she almost gave into but the sound of voices in the corridor spurred her into action.

"Rodney, are you okay?" A red blush spread over her face and down her neck. She had never liked being looked over by a man, but the look on Rodney's face was pure love and adoration. She felt heat pooling instantly in her lower abdomen. _So this is what being desired by someone who loves you feels like. _Any insecurity she might have had was gone when their eyes met.

"Jennifer," the smartest man in two galaxies began. There was no blood left in his head to form many more words than her name. A giggle from the object of his desire broke the trance. "Jennifer. We… dinner... Uh… Gotta get dinner."

"Okay, lead the way," the physician was curious as to what else he spent his time planning during the last few weeks. She linked her arm around his but the stunned man continued to stare at her for a few moments longer. "Lead the way," she said a little firmer trying not to laugh. _Wow, he's really speechless. _

Rodney did not trust himself to speak because of all the emotions running through him. Desire was at the forefront causing extreme discomfort as he walked. _Thank God I buttoned my jacket or everyone will know what she does to me._ The feeling of being loved was a new emotion. He had never felt it before, the euphoria of seeing her appraising look when he arrived at her quarters gave him strength to make sure this night was perfect and not a quick romp in her quarters. _Of course, how I will keep it together when she lets me touch her is the big question._ _This is for her, not you._ He began repeating that mantra in his head as the walked to the transporters.

* * *

The room they entered was dark. A light could be seen through the doorway to a balcony, but no other lights were on. Rodney quickly ushered her through the darkened room.

"What's wrong with the lights in there?" she asked her companion when they arrived on a candle-lit balcony, which caused her to inhale loudly. He had obviously been busy. She could hear soft music playing from speakers that he wired. There was a small table with two chairs, Athosian candles and cloth covering it, and a small oven and fridge unit, which must contain their food. "Wow, you _have_ kept yourself busy."

"You know me, only the best. Oh, almost forgot. I have a gift for you. I meant to give it to you in your quarters, but…" he stopped speaking because he could not finish the sentence aloud._ If I stepped foot in your quarters, we never would have left._

"You don't have to give my anything else," she beamed up at him. _Well…_

"Turn around," Rodney smiled at her. She complied and felt his hands moving her hair to one side and then reaching around her holding something between his hands.

"Oh, Rodney, you shouldn't have," Jennifer was shocked as Rodney hooked the necklace around her neck. It was a simple heart with a small diamond in the middle of it. She held it up to look closely at it with tears welling up in her eyes.

"Do you like it?" the nervous physicist asked. "I've never bought jewelry for a woman… a woman I loved before."

She wanted to ask about the failed proposal to Katie Brown, but did not. As their eyes connected, something unspoken passed between them. A piece of jewelry was a permanent gift. It was something you could keep for the rest of your life and remember the giver by. They each leaned toward the other and when their lips met, it was in a sweet joining of two people who loved each other. Rodney pulled back and turned her toward the table.

"The kitchen crew worked pretty hard on this meal, so you should get to eat it. Besides," he whispered into his ear, "you'll need your strength."

Jennifer blushed as the man she loved squeezed her shoulder and then proceeded to serve dinner. They talked about Atlantis, their graduate school days, and childhoods. When they had finished with soup, salad, appetizer, and main entrée, Rodney stood and reached out his hand.

"May I have this dance?"

Jennifer giggled and accepted his hand, so he could help her up. "Of course, kind Sir."

His hands slid around her waist and hers slid around his shoulders. They had been too intimate recently to not dance closely even though it was their first dance. Rodney's hands slid up her back and when they encountered bare flesh, Jennifer shivered.

The evening was perfect. Jennifer never felt more treasured and cared for. Tony never did any of this for her. He got he a bouquet of flowers from the corner market and sent her a few e-mail notes, but that was it. _How could I have ever let him touch me? You were lonely and wanted someone to say you were pretty._ Rodney's head was pressing against hers and she could hear him humming along with the music. His scent and that of his aftershave overwhelmed her. Their bodies were close enough that she could feel what she was doing to him, but not close enough for her. Every inch of her body ached to be touched by him. When she could not take the slow moving torture of their dance any longer, her desire drove her to act.

"I can't wait any longer," she groaned pressing against him and kissing him. The frustrated woman slid her tongue into his mouth to coax it open. Not able to get close enough by their current position, she slid her left leg up his right, arching her body against him. She could feel how much she affected him by the tremor that shook his body and the groan issued from his throat.

Rodney lost it. The feel of her lithe body pressing against his erection was sending him over the top. He was trying to hold himself back, but her tongue was thrusting into his mouth with the same rhythm as her body was rubbing against his. It had been a long time since a woman wanted him, if ever. Ripping his mouth away from her he choked out, "Jennnii-fffeerr. Puh-lease. C-c-can't sssstop. Ahh!"

He truly sounded in pain, so Jennifer relented in her pressure against him. "Rodney, what happened? Are you okay? You're trembling. You better sit down." The doctor in her took over as she pulled back from him and moved her arms from around his neck to around his waist to help him move. _Maybe there was some lemon in the food._

Rodney was getting his breathing back to some semblance of normalcy. He gripped Jennifer firmly around the shoulders and pulled her to him and buried his face in her hair. "Okay, now."

"Rodney, you better sit down. There could have been something for you to react to in the food," her doctor's voice had a huskiness to it that started Rodney's pulse rising again.

"No, the food was fine. It's you I was reacting… I haven't done this in a long time. Having you rubbing against me was more than I could handle," he rubbed his hands up and down her back.

Jennifer was not sure what he was talking about. "I thought getting turned on is what sex is all about?"

"I was beyond turned on," he sounded annoyed that she did not understand what had happened. Then he remembered that she was basically a virgin when it came to being with a man. He closed his eyes silently berating himself. Taking a deep breath and looking deeply into her eyes, he spoke quickly so he could get it all out, "Jennifer, you do realize when men are aroused, they ultimately want to get a… release? Well…?"

"Of course that's the purpose of sex. I know that better than most," she shot back. Tears suddenly filled her eyes. _What is he getting at?_

"Jennifer, don't cry. I don't know how to say this without just saying it. I was so aroused by what you were doing just now that I came in my pants, like a teenager. Do you understand that?" His face was scarlet and there was sweat on his brow. His eyes stared into her shocked face.

"But, I didn't really do anything but kiss you and…" _Rub against your aroused flesh with my body._ Jennifer gasped and looked horrified. "I'm sorry, Rodney. I stopped thinking. I couldn't get close enough to you. My body was aching and it was the only thing that seemed to help I didn't realize…"

Rodney cut her off by covering her mouth with his. Hearing her explain her own arousal got him hard all over again. Something that should be impossible this quickly, but his reaction to Jennifer was something he had no control over. He slid his tongue into her mouth, devouring her in a kiss that left her unable to stand.

When they broke the kiss, their loud breathing and pounding hearts the only sounds that registered to both of them. Resting his chin on her head, Rodney said, "I need to… Um… clean up, first."

Before Jennifer could respond, she noticed that all the lights in the main part of the City went out over Rodney's shoulder. "Rodney, turn around. Now!"

The confused scientist turned, "Oh, shit! Not tonight!"

TBC

* * *

**A/N I really debated the last part a lot. If you hate it, blame 2Harts, I had two ways I could have gone and decided to torture Rodney a little longer. Been reading too much Varda :)**

**I promise Steamy Night is up next.  
**


	3. The Steamy Night

**MGM owns all characters. **

**Spoilers: Nothing specific**

**A/N: Thanks to the reviewers for keeping me going. Thanks to 2Harts, dwparsnip and Varda for support.  
**

**Definition for non-hockey fans: A hat trick is a hockey term for a player scoring 3 goals in a game.**

**

* * *

**

Rodney had been prepared for everything when he planned the evening. He had a change of clothes, which he had hoped to need some time the next day, and had even stolen Jennifer's overnight bag from the infirmary. He hurried to the bathroom to clean up and change. The irate physicist then called on the earwig he had taken out of his bag to the alternate control room.

"This is McKay, what the hell is going on in the tower?"

Jennifer could see Rodney trembling with anger. She had seen all the effort he put into making their night perfect and her heart went out to him. The CMO understood the call of duty and the fact that Atlantis really _could not_ survive without its Head of Science and Research. It was impossible to hide the sigh that escaped her lips, however. Rodney was listening to whoever answered on the other end and gave her a half smile.

"Where the hell is Zelenka!" he screamed as he walked toward Jennifer.

"Have him call me as soon as he gets a chance. Tell him I'm on my way to the ZPM room _now_."

The beautiful, young doctor smiled at her handsome would-be lover. "I guess we'll have to continue this after you've saved the City, _again_."

"Jennifer, I would never leave…"

"Rodney, I understand. Really, I do. Probably better than most." She cut him off.

"I really don't deserve you, but you already know that, don't you?" Rodney said reaching out to pull the gorgeous woman into his arms. She slipped her arms around his waist and leaned up pressing a kiss to his lips. "Argh, no. I need to go. If you touch me again… screw Atlantis."

Jennifer laughed and gave him a quick squeeze. "Better go save the day."

* * *

By midnight, Rodney McKay was almost hauled up on charges by Mister Woolsey. The angry man had almost bodily thrown one of his staff members off the balcony outside the ZPM room when he discovered this particular subordinate nearly caused the depletion of the ZPM.

"I admit I don't have time to screen every shit-for-brains that gets sent here, because they usually kissed the ass of some IOA hot-shot and I have more important things to do than fight with the IOA. I can assure you after this fucking moron is sent back, I won't let anyone step foot in _my_ city without their grades from elementary school," he fumed to Zelenka, Woolsey and Sheppard. It was Sheppard and Zelenka who had to drag an incredibly strong McKay down the corridor to this small lab where Woolsey came to chew him out.

All three men raised their eyebrows. None of them had heard McKay swear like that. It was something John had noticed early on in Atlantis; none of the City's genius swore like the soldiers when things went wrong. The Colonel had asked McKay about it and the super genius said swearing was for simple-minded people who did not have a better vocabulary. The words McKay used to describe Doctor Nugent were pretty _simple_.

_He must be pretty wound up. Perhaps we interrupted __**something**_… John did not finish the thought before his lips curled up in a grin and his eyebrows rose remembering when he interrupted Rodney about a month ago. _Keller and McKay. It's always the quiet ones._

"Doctor McKay, I recognize the gravity of what almost happened, but you are the Head of Research and physical violence against a subordinate will not be tolerated. You are going to have to apologize to him _before_ you fire him," Woolsey said after taking a deep breath. He and the astrophysicist butted heads routinely, but even the administrator could tell his chief scientist was particularly on edge this evening.

"Like hell. He almost left Atlantis defenseless without its ZPM," McKay growled at Woolsey.

"Rodney, I know you want to kill him and you have every right, but you do know you can't actually… _kill_ him?" his CO interjected to keep Rodney from fighting with Woolsey.

The smartest man in two galaxies just glared at both of them and looked at Zelenka for some assistance.

"Rodney is correct. Doctor Nugent could have destroyed not only the ZPM, but the power surge could have passed through the entire distribution system including the naquadah generators," the Czech added. He was as upset with Doctor Nugent as Rodney and had been busy screaming at the man before their supervisor arrived. Since Radek and Rodney were in agreement, there was nothing for Woolsey to do other than the paperwork.

* * *

Jennifer had told Rodney that she would head back to her quarters after using the bathroom. She went to the bathroom with every intention of leaving their private oasis, but got sidetracked by her own curiosity when she saw the bathtub. Looking around, she noticed unlit candles, a couple bottles of bubble bath, lotions, and two matching bathrobes hung on the wall near the tub. _Rodney did all this?_ Jennifer's heart leaped in her chest at the image of Rodney sending an e-mail for all this stuff to his sister. _What if that e-mail got intercepted? How would she ever face his sister when they finally met?  
_

Leaving the bathroom, she went into the bedroom area. It was separated by a screen similar to what you find in the Orient. Once she walked around the barrier, she stopped and stared. Before her was a large bed made up with dark blue silk sheets surrounded by at least twenty candles. The young woman from Chippewa Falls had never slept on silk sheets before. She actually only had one silk blouse, which cost her a small fortune when she bought it during graduate school. The effort and expense Rodney put into this evening shocked her.

_He did all this for me._ That simple thought brought tears to her eyes. At that moment, she vowed she would never doubt Rodney's love for her nor let anyone else question his basic goodness again. Not because of all the material items, which were quite substantial. The necklace, dress, and silk sheets were more expensive than any gifts she ever received in her life. No, she was certain he loved her because of the time he sacrificed getting this ready and the risk of discovery he faced. Imagining Rodney explaining to Woolsey what he had done in the suite was so outrageous, she could not fathom it.

Waiting her entire life for someone to love her and finding him in the middle of another galaxy was surreal. She ran her hand over the silk sheets getting caught up in erotic thoughts of what they were going to do in that bed. A smile, which turned into a grin, spread across her face. Feeling giddy like a teenager with her first crush, she turned and fell backwards onto the bed. The feel of the silk against her exposed skin sent sensations through her. She pulled off her nylons to allow her legs to feel the silk, wrapped a sheet around herself, snuggled into the pillows and fell asleep with dreams of Meredith Rodney McKay.

* * *

Once Woolsey agreed to let McKay go without having to grovel to Doctor Nugent, he headed straight to Jennifer's quarters. He really did not want to have their first time on an uncomfortable military-issue bed, but he could not keep from making love to her any longer. _Unless of course, she doesn't want to anymore. You did just lose it when she rubbed against you. Her only time was with some pig that only wanted to get off and you basically did the same thing. Oh shit. If I screw this up…_ He increased his pace to almost a run as her quarters neared.

After pounding on the door like a desperate man, which he was, Rodney tried to think of where she could have gone. _The infirmary? No, there was no medical emergency because of the power outage. Maybe she never left?_ Thinking of her sleeping with her pale skin and light hair bathed in moonlight laid out on dark sheets caused him to hardened instantly and head to the transporter at record speed.

* * *

When he entered the room, he noticed the lights were still off except for the bathroom. _Maybe she was in the bathtub._ Another wave of intense desire shot through him. Taking a deep breath he looked into the bathroom to find it empty. Turning, he headed toward the screen dividing the bed from the rest of the room. His breathing and heart stopped at the image before his eyes. There were a few candles lit around the bed, but the moonlight falling across Jennifer provided most of the illumination. Her golden hair framed her head like a halo and a sweet smile was on her face.

Swallowing hard and taking a deep breath, he removed his jacket and shoes sitting gently on the bed next to the sleeping woman. His hand was shaking as he reached to run it through her silky hair. Jennifer shifted slightly so she was now lying on her side. The sheet slid down to reveal that she was still wearing the dress. _She must have fallen asleep after I left. _

The intense feeling of love for this woman that went through Rodney was more than he could take as he felt his eyes stinging. Deciding that she deserved to sleep, he got up, removed his pants and slid under the sheet next to her, trying to wrap his arms around her without waking her. Silently reciting Pi in his head to control his arousal, he pulled her against him.

Jennifer's dream felt too real all of a sudden. There were arms around her; one under her head and the other wrapped around her waist. Her eyes opened and her breathing hitched. _Rodney returned._ All sleep left her as the thought registered so she shifted onto her back to look at him.

"I'm sorry I woke you," Rodney said softly. He shifted so his left arm was propping himself up and his right hand moved from resting on her stomach to his side. "You looked so peaceful."

"That was fast. Did Sheppard hold a gun to your head?" Jennifer said blushing.

"I have a new motivation. Getting back to you," he said as he leaned forward to press a gentle kiss to her lips.

That was all Jennifer needed to spring into action. She slid her arms around his neck and pulled him down. The startled scientist ended up with his upper body lying on top of hers. Deepening the kiss immediately, Jennifer moaned as Rodney's tongue began the exploration of her mouth in earnest. Rodney's hand slid through her hair first. Then his hand started a trek down her cheek, along her jaw, over her ear, down her neck, over her shoulder, hooking the strap on her dress and tugging it down her arm. That incredible hand then traced back up her arm and across her upper chest, pushing under the dress to stroke her left breast through the fabric of her bra. She arched her back and moaned loudly into his mouth.

Rodney had come to love the sounds she made when they were being intimate. He had memorized every one and thought of them when he was getting upset or losing his temper. Tonight was the first time that he could not drown out his anger with thoughts of her because of the seriousness of what that idiot did. The cry he heard when he first touched her breast set his body on fire. _What is it going to sound like when she finally has an orgasm?_ That thought had Rodney reaching around behind her to quickly unhook her bra and unzip her dress.

Jennifer was aware of Rodney shifting on top of her and his hands moving beneath her back. She arched her chest forward to rub against him trying to relieve some of the pressure within her breasts and experience the shot of pure pleasure she felt when his thumb was brushing over her nipple. After what felt like an eternity, the doctor realized the super genius was having trouble. A laugh erupted within her and could not be disguised as anything but laughter.

Rodney pulled back from the woman he loved and glared at her. "Laughter was not really a response I was going for tonight."

"Sorry. But, I thought you were a mechanical engineer," she continued giggling. "Who would have thought a zipper would cause the Great Rodney McKay so many problems?"

"Very funny. The angle makes it difficult. That's all," he tried to inject some anger into his voice but the sound of Jennifer's laughter was a sound he had filed away long ago to make him happy. "Here, sit up and turn around." The amused physician did as he asked and turned her back so he could work at the zipper.

"See, there's this clip thingy at the top."

"Clip thingy? I'm not sure that's what it's called," Jennifer choked on the last word as she felt her bra unhook as well as the zipper begin to lower. "Hey. I never said anything about releasing the bra."

"Figured while I was back here, I'd kill two birds with one stone." Rodney was pleased with himself for being one step ahead of her. Seeing the bare expanse of her back, he leaned forward and kissed the base of her neck and began kissing and nipping his way down her spine as he pushed the zipper down.

Jennifer was clutching the dress to her chest and shocked as she felt his breath on her neck. When she felt his lips and tongue moving down her back, she cried out as a shaft of liquid heat flashed through her body causing wetness to form between her legs. His hands pushed the straps down her arms and then came to rest at her waist when he was done with the zipper. His mouth and tongue were still blazing a heated bath across her back, over her shoulders and finally to her neck.

"Rodney," she gasped trying to turn around to see his face and to kiss him again.

Rodney allowed her to turn and noticed she still clutched the dress to her chest. "Jennifer, are you sure you want to do this? Of course, I'll stop whenever you want me to, but it will be… harder in a short while." Because he loved her, he'd stop if he was already inside her and she wanted him to. _I hope I don't have to try that._

"Yes, I do. It's just…" she blushed red as she paused.

"Just what?" Rodney was trying to get his breathing under control. The sight of Jennifer with hair messed up, swollen lips and desire written on her face was almost too much for him to take. _She is the most beautiful woman in the universe. What does she have to be self conscious of?_ The forgetful man then closed his eyes and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Jennifer. I forgot that you never really did this before." He stroked his hands up and down her arms.

"No. I've never been naked in front of a man before. He tried to pull my dress off, but I was too nervous, so he gave up. He only wanted to..." Jennifer felt shame at allowing herself to be used. _How stupid could I have been? Of course he didn't care for you; he didn't spend any time getting you aroused._

Rodney saw something that looked like shame in her eyes. Quickly pulling her against him and wrapping his arms around her, he thought hard of the right thing to say. "Jennifer. You know I love you, right?" Fear of her rejection was still present. To allow another human being to have so much power over him was the most frightening experience he ever had.

Jennifer pulled back and looked into his face. His eyes were wide with fear. _How can he think I don't love him? _"Yes, I know you love me and I love you. It's still… _different_ to be naked with someone. I've never been in love before and never done this… part of sex."

Rodney let out a sigh and smiled. "You are the most gorgeous woman I've ever seen and as far as I am concerned the most perfect in the universe. You should never be afraid of showing you body off. To me that is. Not to anyone else. Because I don't want to share you."

Jennifer laughed again. "Don't worry about that. I haven't been able to think about another man since I met you." The conversation became serious again as the enormity of what she said sank in.

"Oh Jennifer, I've waited my whole life for you," he pulled her to him and kissed her breathless. During the passionate kiss, her hands slid over his chest and around his back. Once the cotton of his t-shirt brushed against her exposed breasts, she caught her breath. They appeared to both realize the dress fell to her waist at the same time. Rodney pulled back slightly so he could look into her eyes. A silent message speaking of love passed between them. Remembering all Rodney did for her gave Jennifer the courage to lean back from the man she loved. Her eyes never left his.

For once the normally clueless man understood what this meant. As he looked at her full breasts exposed to his eyes for the first time, a look of adoration crossed his face. Since Jennifer had not taken her eyes off his, she noticed the look immediately. As if in slow motion, he hands moved from her shoulders down to cover both of her breasts. The feel of his slightly roughened hands on her breasts caused tremors to pass through her body. She bit her lip to keep from crying out.

"Rodney, I love you." She managed to say as his hands moved lower, allowing his thumbs to stroke over her nipples. Her breathing was getting shaky and she felt a strange sensation building between her legs. Rodney leaned forward to kiss her and push her gently back onto the bed.

Removing his hands from her breast and pulling back to tug his t-shirt off resulted in a cry of anger from the responsive woman. Rodney could never remember a woman reacting this way to him only touching her breasts. All the cries and whimpers from Jennifer were feeding his ego with regard to his ability to please her. Leaning down to kiss her, he moaned himself as he felt her hardened nipples brush against his bare chest. His right leg fell between hers and his arms came down on either side of her to frame her upper body while his hands slid behind her back coming up to hold her shoulders. A particularly long moan issued from Jennifer. Rodney felt her wiggling against his leg. The feel of her smooth legs moving around his caused him to press against her center a little harder with his thigh. Looking at her face, he saw pure joy. Her eyes were closed, her head was thrown back and she clutched his shoulder with her hands. Rodney leaned down to kiss a path from her mouth down her neck and over her chest. He raised his head to look at her full breasts before leaning down to capture her left breast in his mouth. His tongue licked around her nipple while his left hand moved to stroke and pluck at her other breast. He moved his mouth to the other breast and felt her lifting off the bed. He pressed down harder with his leg between hers.

Jennifer had been a physician for many years and studied medicine a long time before that. If someone told her she could have an orgasm from someone kissing her breasts she would have laughed, but there was no mistaking the sensations she was feeling. To increase them, she shifted against Rodney's leg; trapping it between hers as she lifted her hips. That incredible feeling of total release filled her causing a scream of Rodney's name as she nearly passed out panting for breath.

To say Rodney was shocked would have been an understatement. He had no idea what was coming when he felt her wiggling beneath him. He thought she was getting more comfortable while he teased her breasts with his mouth. "Wow," he was humbled by the realization that he brought her to completion by only kissing her breasts. Jennifer's eyes were open but not quite focused yet.

"Love… you. Never… imagined…" she struggled to make sense.

Seeing the look on her face and hearing her scream his name made him realize he must not have ever brought a woman to orgasm before. The thought should have upset him, but he did not care. _There was never a woman before Jennifer._ "I guess I never caused a real one before."

As the meaning of Rodney's words registered in Jennifer's brain, she reached to pull him close. _He never gave a woman an orgasm before?_ _How is **that** possible?_ "You must have been with some pretty lousy women."

"It doesn't matter. Nothing before tonight matters. For either of us," Rodney stared into her beautiful face and smiled the cocky grin he got when he saved the day. "At least I know I'm not the only one with a quick release," he laughed out the last part.

"Don't get too cocky, Meredith." She laughed as well and they hugged each other with Rodney leaning most of his body over hers. When they pulled back to look in each others face, they shared a silent look that only lovers shared. It said,_ I want you_. When their lips met, there was a sense of urgency that was not there before. Both of them seemed to realize that the love they share could be expressed physically resulting in a bond neither would ever break.

"I love you, Jennifer," Rodney spoke against her neck as he kissed his way back to her breasts.

"I love you, Rodney," her breathing was getting erratic again because his hand was also heading down her body over her hip and onto her bare thigh. She began to move her hands; burying one hand in his hair while the other moved down his back to run into the top of his boxers.

The slow licking and tugging on Jennifer's breasts and the stroking of her thigh was eliciting the most wonderful sounds from the woman he loved. Rodney felt like he was making music with Jennifer as his instrument. The passion he never displayed while playing the piano in his youth came out while he made love to her. His hand lightly caressed her leg, each time sliding further around and further up. When his thumb encountered her panties, she jerked in his grasp.

No one had ever touched as much of her body as Rodney and she still had her panties on with the dress wrapped around her waist. The thought of having him touch her where she was wet and throbbing was enough to cause her to moan. His hands that flew over a keyboard or quickly rewired a jumper where performing magic, stroking and caress her. Her breasts ached when his mouth and hands abandoned them to slide lower on her body. On hand was stroking up and down her thigh while the other moved toward her waist.

As his kisses moved lower on her stomach, Rodney encountered the last of her clothing. He lifted his head to look at her face. The love and desire mirrored in her eyes drove caused him to grab her dress and pull it along with her panties down her legs before she could object.

The cool air hit her now naked body like cold water. She sat upright on the bed only to encounter the gentle hands of her lover.

"Sorry to startle you, but I didn't want you to be too self-conscious," Rodney said in a surprisingly calm voice. The sight of her naked body took his breath away, but Jennifer's fear cooled him down. His erection still pressed against his boxers begging to be released, but the desire to make love to her and ensure she enjoyed it was much greater. _As soon as I'm inside her I won't last long._

Kissing her deeply and gently pushing her back on the bed, he ran his hands lightly down her body. Rodney had never performed oral sex on a woman before. His knowledge of it was from porn, which was not the best source. Being a genius, he knew the mechanics of it. This incredible woman pushed any uncertainty he had aside. Knowing it was supposed to be extremely satisfying to a woman, Rodney decided to try. Hearing Jennifer scream his name earlier already boosted his ego to record heights.

"You are so beautiful," Rodney said between kisses that he rained down on her face and neck. Moving slowly down her body with his tongue and mouth performing their magic, her sudden shock at being naked gave way to pleasurable sensations once again. His hands were moving lower and the anticipation was building. The frustrated woman was in a state of pure pleasure and aching need. The throbbing between her legs was almost painful. _Now I know how Rodney feels._ That thought made her do something she never imagined she was capable of. Sliding her right hand down his back and quickly under the elastic of his boxers, she heard a sharp intake of breath from Rodney. Smiling at the power to affect him, she slid her hand between them while still under his boxers and touched his aroused flesh. It was hot, full, and slick. The empowered woman used her other hand to pull Rodney's head up from her stomach so she could see his reaction. His handsome face had a stunned expression; eye closed, perspiration glistened in the moonlight and lips parted. The cries coming from Rodney increased the size of her own ego.

"I think you need to lose these boxers," Moving her hands she pushed the boxers down his legs and snagged them with her foot.

The physicist could not breathe. The feel of Jennifer's soft hand surrounding his extremely hard member almost pushed him over the edge, again. He knew he needed to remember something about pies._ Cherry? App_ … A cry came out of his very soul as an intense wave of pleasure shot through him caused by the tightening and stroking of her hand. Another wave was building and he took every ounce of strength, which was not much, to push her hand away as he collapsed on top of her.

"Jen… Jennif… Jennifer," he finally gasped out her name. The sensations of her naked body pressed against his own did not help clear his mind. _Pi. Constant. 3.1_ "I… need… Ah."

Jennifer could not speak at the moment because the feel of his body covering hers was so new, so intimate that it took her breath away. Her hands came to settle against his chest with his settling on either side of her trying to take some of his weight off of her body. Their combined heavy breathing and trembling showed how much this affected both of them. Staring into each other's eyes, they saw love and adoration on the other's face. Smiling, they leaned toward each other to kiss once again enjoying the sensation of skin rubbing over skin.

Getting some of his faculties back, Rodney realized Jennifer, who was supposed to be shy and insecure, seemed to have picked up some confidence and was ready to experiment. _Not this time. I am going to make love to her the right way if it kills me._ Resolving to keep himself in check and out of range of her _deadly_ grip, he proceeded with his previous course of action. Quickly he kissed a path down her body before she could touch him again. Sliding his hand over her hip and down her leg, Rodney enjoyed the feel of her skin. She was warm, smooth and soft in all the right places. He slid his other arm around her waist. Looking up at her and seeing her staring at him with love on her face gave him the last bit of motivation he needed.

"I love you," he said smiling at her.

Jennifer might be inexperienced, but she was not clueless. Rodney had been slowly working his way down her body, kissing and licking as he went. His amazing hands were stroking her causing feelings she never felt before. When he paused to look at her face, she had an idea what was coming, but the feel of his lips on her inner thigh caused her to scream once again. _Oh God. Is he really going to...?_

"Ahhh," she cried out as she felt hot breath on her throbbing flesh. The next sensation was rough, which was not expected. Another cry issued from her as she recognized the feel of a slightly calloused finger rubbing around her opening and on her clit. "Rod-ney! I…" At the first feel of his finger sliding into her, she began shaking. When his tongue first flicked over her sensitized flesh, she jumped up only to be held down by his arm and weight on her legs. Stroking. Licking. Suckling. Those three things were sending sensations through Jennifer that she never felt before. If the orgasm she had from his kissing her breast was great, the build up to this one meant it would be indescribable. The pressure of his finger on the nerves inside her and the feel of his tongue and mouth on her clit was enough to cause her to pass out. The first wave of release had her moan. The second caused her to cry out and squeeze her legs tightly around his head. The third had her lifting off the bed screaming his name. The fourth had her almost passed out and panting like a dog.

The most arrogant man on Atlantis could barely keep himself from pumping his fists in the air and shouting out in joy. "That was more incredible than the last time," he said as he slid up her trembling body.

Wanting to kiss her but realizing she might find it disgusting, he slid his arms around her back and cradled her head to his shoulder. A content sigh escaped him as he enjoyed the feel of her breasts and naked body pressed against his. His throbbing hard-on poked against extremely wet flesh reminding him that there was still more work to be done.

"Are you going to survive? I just might try for a hat trick but I have to warn you I am not going to last much longer."

"Uh. What?" Jennifer's voice was barely loud enough for him to hear.

"I said I'm never letting go and we are going to do this many more times," Rodney said grinning like a fool.

"Is that a proposal?"

Jennifer's question brought him out of his humorous attitude. Her beautiful brown eyes were staring at him, but she was unreadable at the moment. Feeling a moment of insecurity, which he quickly pushed aside, he spoke rapidly, "Not tonight. I mean. I would love to, but I think I should at least meet your Dad and you should meet Jeannie."

"Are you serious? You want to propose to me? Someday?" Jennifer could not believe her ears. _He wants to **marry** me?_

"Absolutely," Rodney did not pause before answering. This was the woman he was going to spend the rest of his life with. "I knew you were my perfect match the moment I met you. I was just too scared."

"I love you so much," Jennifer said pulling his head down to kiss him deeply. Rodney was startled because he imagined that he still tasted like her. The thought that it did not concern Jennifer seemed kind of 'hot' to him. The aching of his arousal reminded him of their current situation.

Shifting slightly so he was fully between her legs, he was overcome by the sensation of her heated flesh pressed against him. Feeling Jennifer gasp into his mouth and press herself against him, almost put him out of control. Pulling back from her so he could look into her face, he took a deep breath.

"Are you ready?" He really wanted to make sure she wanted this. "I don't want this to be bad for you. I imagine it could be uncomfortable again after all this time."

"I love you and I want you," Jennifer whispered, trying to tug his head down to keep kissing him.

"I want to see your face," A calm spread over Rodney as he realized the enormity of what they were about to do. Shifting to prop himself more fully on his left arm, he slid his right hand down her body watching the expressions on her face change from expectant to joy to ecstasy when his hand stroked her heated flesh one last time to prepare for his entry. Positioning himself outside her opening, he held his breath locking their eyes together and pushed forward gently. The feeling of her softness surrounding him was incredible. Her eyes widened as he was sure his did as well. The look of absolute love that filled her face and the moan that issued from her mouth let him know it was okay to proceed. She moved her hips deepening his penetration and stroked hands down his back pushing him over the edge. He wanted to take his time, but was powerless to stop his body from taking over.

_She was so tight. So hot. So sweet._ The rhythm he immediately fell into was quick and deep. Jennifer rose to meet him on every thrust. It felt like a lifetime since he had done this and realized he had never **really** made love to anyone because they were not Jennifer. Their heavy breathing and cries were the only sound he heard. The sensation of their flesh rubbing caused tremors to pass through their bodies. He felt the beginnings of his release. He shifted his angle ever so slightly, apparently hitting her G-spot because he felt her begin to spasm. Since he was buried deep inside her as she started her orgasm, it caused him to finally release.

"Jennifer!" he screamed as he felt wave after wave of pleasure course through his body. Vaguely, he was aware of his name being screamed. The feeling of complete and total peace filled him after he finished emptying himself within her. Collapsing in a boneless pile on top of her for a moment he tried to speak. Nothing came out. Pushing a bit, he rolled them onto their side.

When Jennifer awoke this morning, she was going to confront Rodney to tell him she could not be just his friend. Now she was his girlfriend, his lover and the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. That knowledge plus the fact that he brought her more pleasure than she thought her body capable of experiencing gave her a sense of belonging and security she never felt before. Tears rolled down her face and she buried herself in his arms.

"Jennifer. Oh, honey, what's wrong?" Rodney's anguished voice filled her ears.

"Nothing. That was the most incredible… I can't come up with words," she said looking at him to see fear on his face.

"Oh, thank God. I felt your tears and thought I hurt you. I kind of lost control there at the end," he said averting his eyes slightly and blushing.

"So did I. I didn't know where I stopped and you started. I never felt so…"

"Complete," they said simultaneously and laughed as they leaned in to kiss.

"Let's get some rest. You're going to need it," Rodney said pulling a sheet around them.

"Really. Is that a challenge?" Jennifer shot back snuggling into his arms molding her body against him.

"No because you've already won," Rodney was grinning as he fluffed a pillow under his head.

"Really, you got the hat trick, I only got two."

"You like hockey?" Rodney said incredulously.

"Mmm. A lot you don't know about me," Jennifer whispered leaning up to kiss him gently before drifting off to sleep in the arms of her best friend and future husband.

* * *

**A/N I hope you liked it. It was my first time writing a steamy scene. **


	4. The Restless Night

**MGM owns all characters**

**Spoilers: Anything through Lost Tribe**

**A/N: Thanks to all the reviewers for Steamy Night. Especially thanks to dwparsnip and 2Harts for beta and support. M-rating for this chapter, so be warned or enticed.**

* * *

The Pegasus galaxy refused to give Rodney and Jennifer any time to enjoy their new found intimacy. Before they awoke from their blissful sleep, the citywide PA system called for Doctors McKay and Keller to report to the briefing room as soon as possible. Leaping out of bed, the two lovers pulled on clothing and rushed to their quarters with nothing more than a quick kiss and an 'I love you'.

When Jennifer walked into the briefing room, she noticed Rodney was already there in conversation with Zelenka. Glancing around the room, she saw her other favorite doctor.

"Carson, what are you doing here?" Jennifer rushed forward to hug her former mentor. After losing the first Carson she treasured any time she got with his clone, so formality was long forgotten between them.

"Hello, love," Carson said in an exhausted voice.

Looking closely, Jennifer saw deep circles under his eyes and he smelled like… burnt wood. "Where are have you been?"

"I'm the reason for this meeting. You'll hear as soon as everyone gets here." Carson looked at his protégé and noticed she was glowing. Her normally joyful smile seemed brighter. "You look pretty happy this morning. What's going on?"

Jennifer felt her cheeks flame and stammered trying to look innocent, "Wh-what do you mean? I'm always happy."

"Carson," Rodney approached Jennifer from behind so she did not see him causing her to start a bit.

As soon as their eyes connected, Carson knew what was going on. His two closest friends were now _intimate_. "Details. I want details!" This caused Jennifer to get more flushed and Rodney to grin like he had just won his coveted Nobel Prize.

"Carson!" Jennifer squeaked. _No way am I talking to him about my sex life!_

"Let's get this briefing started. We have a lot to do," Mister Woolsey said stopping all conversations and forcing everyone to sit down. The situation Carson briefed them on involved a forest fire burning toward a large settlement. They would need most of the jumpers and the medical team on the planet for several days to evacuate people and treat the injured. Since Rodney had an active ATA gene, he would be flying a jumper. Jennifer smiled at Rodney upon hearing that. Knowing they would not have any time alone together during the disaster did not diminish the fact that they would both be going. Neither wanted to be apart so soon after their passionate encounter last night.

John Sheppard was seated across from his scientist and the CMO. He noticed the smiles they exchanged and the quick glances. _Looks like they finally did it. Just what I need; I had a love-starved McKay now I got one who can't get enough._ Shaking his head, he knew he needed to deal with this before they left Atlantis.

When the meeting broke, Jennifer was in a hurry to get to the infirmary to get the supplies and equipment organized. She noticed Rodney was walking close by when they left the briefing room brushing his arm against hers. Glancing up she smiled broadly.

"At least we're both going," he said softly leaning slightly toward her.

"Yes, but so is Carson and Sheppard and Lorne and almost everyone," she laughed and sighed trying to tell him with her eyes that there will not be any chance for them to be together the way they want to be.

Rodney seemed to know what she was thinking because he sighed too and said; "The Pegasus galaxy and I have been at war since I got here. I wasn't expecting a break, but I could hope."

"I'll see you in the hanger in an hour," Jennifer reached out to squeeze Rodney's arm and turned to follow Doctor Amanda Cole to the transport.

"Rodney," John called out seeing the physicist staring at the physician as she walked away.

"Morning, John," Rodney turned to greet his team leader trying to control the smug grin that had adorned his face most of the morning. "Zelenka and I need to do a quick diagnostic on the jumpers to make sure they can handle all the ash that will be in the air from such a big fire."

"Great. I need to speak to you for a second before that," the Colonel said.

Carson walked up before he could pull Rodney aside. "Don't think this little disaster is going to get us out of that conversation, Rodney. I demand to know your intentions with Jennifer. If they are anything less than noble, you and I will have a serious problem."

"If I have my way, Carson, Jennifer and I will be together for a very long time," Rodney said with no hesitation. The usually clueless man noticed the shocked expressions on Carson and John.

"Well, I'll let Woolsey and the IOA deal with that issue. I want to talk about this mission. Carson, we'll catch you in the jumper bay," John said motioning for Rodney to follow him into his office down the hall. _Did McKay just say he wants to marry Jennifer?_

"You want to know if I can focus on my job now that Jennifer and I are in a serious relationship."

John was surprised his friend used the word 'serious' after one date. _I hope Jennifer feels the same way or this is going to end really badly. _"Yes. You know how the military feels about… relationships among their personnel. I know you are both civilians, but _you_ are on my team and therefore my responsibility," John stared into his friend's eyes noting that Rodney did not cross his arms defensively or interrupt his little speech. _Wow, Keller is rubbing off on him already. _"I am going to promise to _personally_ take care of Jennifer on this mission so you can concentrate on your work."

"Sure," the scientist managed to get out. Rodney knew Sheppard was going to give him a hard time about Jennifer, but he did not expect his team leader to understand and offer to help. It left him speechless.

"Consider it a form of payback," the colonel said, "Now get up to the bay with Zelenka." Rodney nodded and headed off after the Czech leaving John to his thoughts.

John headed toward his quarters to grab a change of clothes. His thoughts took him into the past, which was actually an alternate future. If he thought about it too much, his head would split. Since the 'other' McKay got him back to change the future, he tried to make sure _his_ Rodney got the girl and had a happy ending. It seemed like a way to repay the other man for sacrificing his life to save his friends and the woman he loved.

* * *

There was controlled chaos in the jumper hanger. Jennifer was coordinating the medical supplies getting loaded on jumpers and Major Lorne was coordinating the military and civilian jumper pilots. Bringing her gear to Jumper Three, she was intercepted by Colonel Sheppard.

"You'll be with me for this one, Doc," John grabbed her packs out of her hands.

"What? Oh, okay," Jennifer wanted to ride with Rodney, but felt it would be childish to say that to his team leader. She obediently followed John into Jumper One looking around for the man she loved.

"Its okay, Rodney knows you're coming with me," John said as he closed the back door.

Jennifer took the seat next to John and looked out the window with a hint of sadness on her face, which the pilot noticed immediately.

"I think we need to talk, Jennifer," Sheppard said as he flew the jumper out of its hanger.

"Okay, _John_," she said his name, which she never did. "You never call me Jennifer."

"Well, since you will be dating my best friend, I should call you Jennifer outside of official business."

"This is not official business?"

"Not officially," he smiled his patented John Sheppard smirk. "I was hoping to get you alone and this presented the ideal opportunity."

Jennifer was concerned. _What is he talking about?_

"Not sure how to say this other than to just say it. If this is some joke, like hey, let's get laid by the genius, stop it _now_," John had an edge to his voice. He did not think Jennifer was some type of harpy, but he never took much time to get to know her.

"Excuse me!" Jennifer was pissed. "How dare you think I'm just using Rodney? I have been in love with him since before I got here. When everyone at the SGC said he was a pain in the ass and obnoxious and rude and not worth meeting, I still wanted to meet seemed obvious from what everyone said that he was an outcast. Just like I was most of my life. When I met him, I fell head over heels and spent the last two years turning your soldiers away because I hoped he'd notice me. Does that sound like… like… a woman who only wants to get laid!" She almost leaped out of her seat to slug him. "My love for Rodney kept me going after Carson died and then Elizabeth. I was ready to quit after that disaster with Teyla on New Athos. Rodney stood quietly by me through it all. Even though he had Katie, he was still my friend and I could not forget about him."

John was surprised at the passion in Jennifer's voice. _She really does love him and always has. Lucky Rodney. _"Calm down. Jennifer, please hear me out."

She was breathing hard because it physically hurt to hold in the anger she felt at John for his accusation.

"I needed to find out how you felt about him because it's not _obvious_ to some of us how a beautiful, young woman like you could fall for grouchy, old Rodney," John was having a hard time concentrating on his flying and not getting up to hug her. The feelings he had for Rodney were stronger than for his own brother. They spilled blood together. It forged a bond that no one who had not lived through it could understand. For his best friend to find a woman who definitely loved him in spite of himself made John want to shout with joy for his friend. "I can see that you are serious. Don't hate me for looking out for my friend. You did the same when he was infected by that parasite."

Jennifer was getting her control back. _John is just looking out for Rodney._ "Fine. You probably could have asked a little less… confrontationally."

"And you could have answered with less… venom," John started laughing and Jennifer joined in. When they landed with the other jumpers and got out, they were laughing and carrying on like they were old friends.

* * *

Over the next three days and two nights, the Lanteans were occupied with evacuating the population in a valley north of the gate to this smaller village, assisting with the injured and helping set up a large refuge camp. Rodney and Jennifer saw each other occasionally in the temporary mess hall or waiting in line for the showers, but John seemed to be deliberately keeping her away from Rodney. They were both annoyed but also were thankful. Neither of them needed a distraction while they were performing their duties. Other than a few hand or thigh squeezes under the table in the mess hall; they did not get to touch each other.

Rodney finished the last repair on Jumper six and headed for the showers and then mess hall. He was aching and smelled like smoke. _Tomorrow we will be back on Atlantis and I can be with Jennifer again. _To say he wanted her was an understatement. It went so much deeper than just physical wanting. Because she was busy for at least fourteen or fifteen hours a day, he had a lot of time to think about them. Originally, he imagined they would date for several months, return to Earth to meet the families, get engaged and then married some time in a year or so. All that changed after they made love. Rodney wanted them to be married or at least engaged for the entire universe to see as soon as possible. During the last few days, he had to set a few villagers straight about the status of the beautiful, golden haired doctor that they were drooling over. If she was his wife and wore his ring, he would not have this problem. Not thinking that wedding rings probably meant little in the Pegasus galaxy or that doctors could not wear their rings when examining patients; the astrophysicist began to plan how he was going to propose.

Rodney saw John in the mess hall without Jennifer. Realizing he did not see her all day, he had a wave of sadness quenching his unusually cheery attitude of late.

"John, where's Jennifer?"

"She's wrapping up some stuff with Carson. Said she was turning in early tonight. Poor thing is exhausted. We have to help her. It seems like she has to do everything," John grabbed a sandwich and some chips turning to find a table for them.

"Yup, she's not good at delegating. I'll work on it with her," Rodney said as he took a bite.

"You are the last one to help with delegation. I'll have you know I have yet to fill out a form other than Lorne, you, Ronon, or Teyla's performance reviews since Lorne got here. Ford did everything before that. I will give her the delegation lessons," John laughed with his friend. The change in Rodney was extremely pronounced over the last few days. He smiled all the time and laughed easily.

They talked about the last few days, which resulted in about a hundred jumper flights from the valley with no fatalities, and Rodney's relationship with Jennifer.

"So," John said getting up to leave, "Looking forward to being able to… you know… with Jennifer when we get back."

Rodney caught the raised eyebrows and suggestive look.

"I don't kiss and tell, Sheppard," the scientist said with some annoyance.

"Not asking for details McKay. You two looked like you had a nice, relaxing evening before this mess happened. I imagine you want to do that again. That's all."

"More than you can imagine. I have to be honest, most of the time when I've been chasing after a woman and I finally get her…" he holds his hand up to stop John's already forming thought, "I know it hasn't happened often, but when it has, its been kinda… anti-climactic."

"Really?" John gave Rodney a startled look. "I never pegged you for a love-em-and-leave-em guy."

"Is that what that means? Wow, I was a jerk," Rodney realized that is exactly what he was. "Who knew we had so much in common?"

"Yeah," Sheppard was a surprised by Rodney's revelation.

"But things are different with Jennifer?"

"Absolutely. I feel like I have a drug addiction. I can't get enough of seeing her or touching her or…" Rodney realized what he was saying and stopped feeling a little sheepish for kissing-and-telling after all.

"I understand. I'm sure she feels the same way," John replied as they walked toward the large building that was set aside for them to sleep in. It was a large barn with cloth hung around the beds to give people a little privacy.

"Well, I'm going to bed. I'm exhausted," Rodney said heading to the first 'room'.

John did not mention that this was Jennifer's room, which he put next to his own in an effort to keep his promise of watching over her. The tired man smiled turning in as well.

* * *

Jennifer was exhausted. She hit the mess hall for a quick bite to eat and then the showers. She had grabbed a pair of scrubs from the temporary infirmary to put on. They had been sealed, so they did not smell like smoke. Walking into her room, she noticed the soft light of a computer tablet on her pillow. Her eyes widened as she saw Rodney sleeping face down on her bed with his head partially on the computer. _John Sheppard is next door. How does Rodney expect us to be in here without John knowing what's going on?_ Stepping up to the cot, she reached out shaking his shoulder gently.

"Huh, Wha…" Rodney grunted shaking his head and looking up. A sound from on the other side of the cloth wall caused them both to freeze. The colonel was shifting on his cot. Jennifer smiled when Rodney looked at her. The computer screen let off the faintest of light showing his smile. He stood up and reached his hands out to cradle her face mouthing 'I love you', which she did as well. Her hands immediately slid under his opened jacket around his waist. There lips met and they both groaned because three days without kissing each other was too much for them to take. Freezing again because they heard Sheppard moving around the lovers both realized they would not be able to do anything here.

Rodney saw disappointment on Jennifer's face. He was hoping they could kiss and cuddle on the cot; at least spending time close even if they could not make love. Upon hearing the sweet sounds coming from Jennifer, he responded in kind. It would appear they were incapable of being with the other without losing control. _Where could they get some privacy without anyone to hear what they were doing? Too bad we can't fly back to Atlantis. Oh, that's it._ Rodney pulled Jennifer close feeling her body rub against his aroused flesh, he had to stifle another groan as he leaned near her ear to whisper as quietly as he could, "Let's go." Since his face was so close to her freshly washed hair, he took the opportunity to hold her a moment longer taking in her scent. Pulling back swiftly, he grabbed her arm and tugged her after him.

John Sheppard was awoken by something, but then heard the distinctive sound of two people groaning in pleasure. _You have got to be kidding me. They can't hold it until tomorrow? _Realizing he needed to stop them from embarrassing themselves, he got up, pulled on his boots and when out. "McKay," he said in a loud whisper. Hearing nothing, he decided the situation was serious enough that he needed to barge in on them. Taking a breath and trying to keep his eyes almost shut, he moved the flap only to see an empty cot. _Where did they go?_

Because there was nothing else to do at midnight if you were wide awake except eat, he headed out toward the mess hall. Looking toward the twelve Jumpers lined up in the field below, he saw Rodney and Jennifer heading toward Jumper Three, which Rodney was flying. _At least no one should hear them. _He shook his head because he could not believe his awkward buddy was capable of having sex in a jumper then continued to the mess hall.

* * *

Jennifer saw they were heading for the jumpers and had a flash of uncertainty. _How were they going to do it in there? The floor was hard and the benches were not wide enough. I'm not sure I can do it standing up. _Old memories that she thought were erased by Rodney filtered back into her mind. By the time they got inside the jumper, she was almost as nervous as in that shelter a month ago.

"Rod…" Jennifer started.

Rodney pulled her into his arms and devoured her mouth with his before the door fully closed. Jennifer pushed her concerns aside to give in to the heat of being kissed by the man she loved. Their tongues stroked each other as Rodney's hand raked through her damp hair. Jennifer pushed his jacket back from his shoulders sliding a hand into his hair and the other down to pull the t-shirt out of his pants. Their deep breathing and moans of pleasure filled the jumper.

Rodney's hands began moving down her back to cup her bottom and pull her against him. Her slim body molded perfectly against his. _I could stay hidden in here with Jennifer forever._ As soon as Rodney thought of the word _hidden_ in his mind, the jumper cloaked.

* * *

On the slight rise where the mess hall looked down upon the field, his team leader stepped out with a cup of hot chocolate in his hand and noticed Jumper Three was missing. _He flew away? Where did he go? He wouldn't dare go back or Woolsey would kill him._

"Good evening, sir," Major Lorne said coming in from his patrol.

"How are the troops holding up, Major?" the head of Atlantis Military asked his second in command.

"Fine, sir. Everyone is in a hurry to get back home though."

"Yes, everyone," John smiled even though Lorne did not know why and glanced down at the missing Jumper.

"I'm like to get a coffee and then I will give you a more complete update, sir."

"Sure. Then I don't need one in the morning."

* * *

Rodney had to stop kissing Jennifer, so he could remove his jacket and t-shirt. After pulling hers off as well, he paused for a moment realizing he had not seen her naked under bright lights. Moonlight and candles had lighted the bedroom when they first were together. It was not the same intensity as the lights of the jumper. A smile passed his lips, as he reached around to unclasp her bra. Jennifer still seemed dazed from the kissing. Once the cool air of the jumper hit her exposed nipples, they hardened instantly causing Rodney to harden even more inside his confining pants. Looking first at her face, which had a stunned expression, and then at her perfect, full breasts his grin got even wider. "You are even more beautiful than I remember. I could spend the rest of my life staring at your body."  
Leaning in to kiss her again, his chest brushed against her breasts causing a long low moan to issue from her. _I love those sounds and want to hear more of them._ With this thought, he began kissing a trail down her throat to her breasts. When his tongue licked a throbbing nipple, she trembled and cried out his name.

Jennifer was surprised at being naked and exposed in the harsh lights of the jumper but the look of adoration on Rodney's face had her feeling secure again. No matter what happens, she is positive he loves her. The sudden feel of his tongue on her breast set her trembling and moaning his name. His hands were sliding down her waist toward her pants. Sliding under the elastic at the waist, he rubbed her backside causing more tremors to shake her. Feeling the familiar wetness that occurred whenever he was around between her legs had her begging. "I need you inside me, Rodney."

When those words that every man longs to hear from the woman he desires registered with Rodney's brain, he groaned and tore his mouth away from her breasts to capture her lips again in a triumphant kiss. His hands moved to pull her white, hospital pants off. Jennifer's hands were moving to the button and zipper of his pants. Once they were released, her strong hands slid inside to grasp him through his boxers. He almost screamed at the sensations that went through his aching flesh.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lorne rejoined Sheppard outside the mess hall to continue his report. "All personnel and jumpers are accounted for, sir."

"Oh, did Jumper Three clear their departure with you?" John was surprised his diligent second in command did not comment on Jumper Threes disappearance especially given his history with Rodney.

"What? Jumper Three is still here, sir."

John looked down where Lorne was glancing and saw that Jumper Three was back. _Wow, that was fast!_

* * *

As Rodney tried to remember how to stand, Jennifer slipped a hand inside his boxers and touched his throbbing member causing his knees to buckle forcing him to lower himself onto his knees and out of the reach of her hands. This put him a lot closer to her throbbing center. Without missing a beat, he slid her pants down revealing the heart of her arousal. Jennifer gasped. Looking up at the face of the woman he loved for a moment, Rodney realized his next course of action. He leaned down to remove her shoes and pants so she would not get tangled in them and to protect her adorable feet from the hard deck, he put her pants under them.

Jennifer was shocked that Rodney pulled her pants off so quickly. She was feeling quite proud of herself for causing him to lose his balance by just stroking him. _What would happen if I ever took him in my mouth? _Before Jennifer could think any more about that, she felt Rodney's hot tongue blazing a path along her thigh and over her clit before she could do more than grab his shoulders and scream his name. The feel of his tongue lapping at her caused sensations to build up. His hands were on her hip holding her up. He moved one of them and she began to fall onto him. Pulling back for a moment and pushing Jennifer into a sitting position on the bench, Rodney put his face into her lap and picked up where he left off only this time, he inserted a finger inside her. This was all it took to push her over the edge. Her orgasm came quick and hard causing her to buck back against the side of the jumper and for her hands to flail about looking for something to grab onto and only finding the netting.

Rodney was thrilled beyond believe that he could cause this kind of a reaction from this amazing woman. Pulling back to look at her, he realized she had torn down the netting that held the supplies overhead. It was pure luck that none of the cases came crashing down on them. Looking at Jennifer who was almost passed out leaning against the jumper wall and then back up at the overhead bins, he laughed. "No more sex in a jumper without helmets."

"Wha..." Jennifer registered that she could not move and that Rodney was laughing. "Not funny. Can't feel my legs. Can't feel anything," she panted.

"Jennifer, you almost brought the stuff crashing down on us." Rodney was forced to stand up, shift a few supplies and put the netting back over the top bins. "You really are pretty violent when you…" Rodney lost all conscious thought at that moment because Jennifer had apparently recovered quickly enough to sit up and pull his pants and boxers down. The feel of her hot breath and soft hands on his arousal caused him to grown. Looking down at the unbelievable sight of his sweet Jennifer, holding his flesh in her hand and leaning forward to kiss its tip caused him to cry out and clutch the overhead shelf for his life.

"J-j-jenn-i-ffer ssstooop," he could barely speak. Her mouth had opened and her tongue flicked out touching and tasting him for the first time. Never in his life had a woman touched him that intimately and once again his knees gave out on him.

* * *

Back on the hill, Lorne and Sheppard both noticed simultaneously that Jumper Three disappeared.

"What the hell?" Lorne said. He reached for his radio to call for a Marine patrol to head over.

"Wait, Major. I'll check it out," John immediately began heading that way.

"Sir, I'll send a patrol," the Major offered.

"No. Its Jumper Three, that one is always twitchy. Must be some strange thing going on with the cloaking device," John started jogging down the hill. _Couldn't you find a softer spot than the console McKay?_

* * *

Jennifer felt like she could defeat a Wraith Queen in hand-to-hand combat. There was nothing she could not do now. _I brought Rodney McKay to his knees twice in one night._

"Are you okay?" The grin on her face stretched back to Wisconsin.

"Pretty proud of yourself, huh," he finally managed.

"Wow!" Jennifer said raising an eyebrow.

"Guys love to hear 'wow' in the bedroom or even jumpers," he smiled as well. "I think you need to hold off on that again. I don't know how I didn't come all over you except that I want to be inside you more than anything."

At this honest statement, Jennifer leaned forward to kiss him. He pulled her to him and started trying to get up clutching her and kissing her. It was not working too well. Laughing, Jennifer pulled back and stood to help pull Rodney up. Seeing the man of her dreams naked and standing before her once again caused her to smile and say "Wow."

"Okay, now I know you're joking," Rodney leaned down to kiss her and pull her against his aroused flesh. Walking backward and half-carrying her, he made his way to the bench on the other side.

"What are you doing?" Jennifer asked as he pulled away from her for a moment to look around.

"Just making sure there's no netting for you to pull down."

"If you keep picking on me, I'll never kiss _him_ again," she said as her hand reached out to grab his erection.

"Ahh, okay, okay. No need to torture me," he breathed. Kissing her again, he sat down on the bench pulling her onto his lap so she was straddling him. When he felt her wet center rub against his painful erection, he lost control once more. Grabbing her buttocks with both hands, he pulled her forward so she rubbed harder against his flesh. Wanting to be inside her so much that Rodney could not think, he tugged her again until his member was pushing at her entrance.

Pulling her mouth away from his, she stared into his bright blue eyes. "I love you, Rodney."

"I love you, Jennifer," Rodney said as he felt her body lower her body over him. As he felt more of her wet flesh envelope his arousal, he cried her name. Locking his eyes on hers, they both moved slowly together causing him to fill her entirely.

He was deep inside now and began to thrust up rubbing her sensitized flesh. Clinging to his shoulders, she adjusted to this new position and began testing her movements to see his reactions. Wanting to make it last all night, but feeling the buildings of another orgasm Jennifer shifted; rocking and grinding in earnest.

Rodney could hear her softly say; Rodney, love you, want you over and over as his began to increase his own thrusting. The tempo increased causing Jennifer's breasts to jiggle in front of him. Capturing them in his hands, the genius rubbed her nipples with his thumbs. The movements got faster and cries louder as they continued. Jennifer threw her head back crying out his name and clutching at his shoulders as the first wave hit her. The second wave hit her and Rodney simultaneously. Rodney screamed her name and clutched her body to his. This orgasm was just as intense as their last one on Atlantis.

As Rodney remembered how to breathe, his eyes focused on the smiling face of the woman he loved. She was speaking to him, but hearing had not quite recovered and speech was light years away. "We need to get back to the village. If anyone is looking for us they will have no ideas where we are."

It took a few more minutes for Rodney to be able to let Jennifer get up. They sat kissing some more and finally got up to put their clothing back on.

"Now its time to leave our little hiding place," Rodney said as he opened the door and put his arm around Jennifer. They stopped before they got too far down the ramp because John Sheppard was leaning against Jumper Two looking disgusted. "What the hell were you doing to the cloak? It was on. It was off. It was on and finally right before you opened the door, it went off. I don't want to know what you did on that console, but I can assure you I'll never step foot in Jumper Three again!"

With that, Colonel Sheppard left them standing like two animals caught in the headlights. Silently laughing, he headed back to his cot and dreams of a gorgeous Ancient.

TBC

* * *

**A/N: I had to follow in the tradition set by the great McKeller smut writers before me of sex in a Jumper.**


	5. The Anxious Night

**MGM ****owns all characters **

**Spoilers: Quarantine**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter. As always thanks to my muses and betas: 2Harts and dwparsnip. Explicit Sexual Content in this chapter.**

**

* * *

**

Rodney McKay was in heaven. Being Canadian, he was a Bryan Adams fan, but never was a fan of the ballads. Now that he and Jennifer were together, he could relate to them all. They were listening to some music over dinner the previous night and _Heaven_ came on reminding him of high school. Jennifer basically skipped high school and all the angst by going directly to the hell of medical school at fifteen. The genius had hoped to live out his missed-out-on-prom-night last evening, but of course the City had other ideas. Atlantis or the Pegasus galaxy kept them apart any opportunity it got. Radek was forced to call and interrupt them in their special hide-away. The physicist was surprised no one had found it yet. _Well, I'm sure Radek knows it's there but he won't tell Sheppard or Woolsey. _

On his way to apologize to Jennifer for once again running out before they could do more than kiss, Rodney ended up walking past the indoor greenhouse. He never visited botany since his failed proposal to Katie Brown except when he got flowers for Jennifer. _What the hell were you thinking by proposing to her? If you had married her, you'd never have been with Jennifer. _The thought that he and Jennifer might never have been together was too difficult to think about.

The indoor greenhouse was a small park on one of the lower levels of the city. The Ancients had a fondness for plants and had an area roughly the size of a football field set aside for flowering trees and plants found on the main land and from other planets throughout the Pegasus galaxy. With benches and footpaths, it presented the personnel who did not get off world with a place for a respite from the cold, metal of the city. The scientist avoided it for fear of his allergies being aggravated, but today it had appeal because Meredith Rodney McKay was looking for the perfect location to propose to the woman he loved. Originally, he was going to wait to propose until they met their families but recent events gave him the desire to rush things. He wanted to marry Jennifer as soon as possible.

Stepping through the doors and taking a tentative breath, the physicist was pleasantly surprised to find the greenhouse did not cause him to sneeze. Taking a path to his right, he walked through some towering tropical-looking trees and flowering plants. The path led to a floor-to-ceiling window looking out over the ocean. It faced west, so you would see the setting sun. _Perfect!_ Rodney turned to see that there were a couple of benches and further up the path, a clearing that would fit a blanket_. A romantic picnic dinner with champagne, sunset and a proposal. You can't beat that. Jeannie will be so proud._

Jeannie Miller e-mailed her brother daily asking for updates on his relationship with Jennifer. His little sister's e-mails offered advice that was as straightforward as her words always were.

_Mer,_

_Don't be rude. _

_Don't rush things like you did last time. _

_If she lets you get intimate, don't __**brag**__ about it. _

_Treat her like your most coveted science award._

_And hurry up and bring her home, so I can meet her. _

_Love, Jeannie_

She had procured supplies for her brother's efforts such as Jennifer's dress, chocolate treats, silk bed coverings, plush robes and champagne. He had put many of them to use already, but the most important one she sent him was burning a hole in his jacket pocket. Taking out the little black box to look at the two-carat marquise ring that took a piece of his savings to purchase, he realized that it should have gone onto Jennifer's finger already.

* * *

Jennifer was on cloud nine every day. Her grin was wider than before and her beautiful face even more vibrant than ever. No one asked her about the change, but everyone knew the cause was Doctor Rodney McKay. It surprised her friends when she began to _actually_ date Rodney and seemed to be happier. Some of them, Major Lorne and Doctor Amanda Cole, thought she would become miserable. The physician knew everyone was thinking Rodney was only happy because he 'was getting some', but Jennifer knew the secret. _My boyfriend __**is**__ sweet and kind under his arrogant exterior. He just keeps it hidden out of fear of rejection._ _Now that he has someone who loves him, he acts more like his true self._

"Jennifer," Rodney called out coming up the crowded corridor behind her.

Turning and flashing a broad smile at him, she waited for him to catch up. "What was the latest disaster?"

"The City locked down an entire quadrant because of some sensor malfunction. I'm sorry, again." The astrophysicist caught up with the beautiful woman, slipped his arms around her waist pulling her into a quick hug and pressing a kiss to her lips.

Jennifer gasped in surprise. He kissed her in the infirmary that one time, but never did more than hold her hand in public since. Before she responded to his kiss, he turned her back toward the mess hall, leaving one arm around her shoulders. "Did you get breakfast, yet?"

"N-n-no. I… Uh…" The physician was still stunned by the sudden public display of affection.

"Are you okay, Doctor Keller," Rodney's face was full of mischief.

"What are you up to, Doctor McKay," Jennifer slid an arm around his waist.

"You'll just have to wait and see."

"Just don't plan anything because you know we always get interrupted," Jennifer could not keep the disappointment out of her voice. She loved Rodney and wanted to spend time with him, but their schedules and the operation of the city prevented it. Since returning from the forest fire, they had not been able to be together for almost a week. They managed to spend a night in his bed once, but Jennifer passed out as soon as her head hit the pillow and had to get up early while Rodney was still sleeping.

"Don't worry. I won't do anything except grab some food. I won't plan anything more than that," Rodney could not contain his excitement. _Tonight, he and Jennifer Keller would be engaged._

Jennifer thought Rodney looked happier than normal. _What is he up to?_ Jeannie said in the latest e-mail that she should start to play hard to get, but Jennifer loved him too much for that.

Entering the mess hall, they noticed how crowded it was. Jennifer saw Sheppard and several others at a table on the balcony. She pointed them out to Rodney as they got their breakfast.

"Carson," Jennifer cried as she saw her mentor. He had stayed behind on the planet after all the evacuations, so it was a surprise to see him. Rushing over to give him a hug caused Rodney to raise a questioning eyebrow.

"Are you sure there's nothing I need to know about you two? You do an awful lot of hugging." Rodney set his tray down next to Jennifer's grabbing a chair from a nearby table.

"Well, they have known each other a lot longer than Jennifer's known you. I'd also say he's a lot cuter and definitely nicer than you," Sheppard threw in with a smirk. Jennifer blushed furiously shaking her head at the Colonel.

"Hate to break it to you John, because I know you think you're funny, but you really aren't," Rodney threw back and started eating.

"What brings you back so soon, Carson?" Jennifer asked sitting between him and Rodney.

"I was going to ask Woolsey if I could recruit some people from here to help me. Maybe let folks take a month or two of sabbatical. Like the volunteer groups on Earth," the older doctor said.

"That's a great idea, Carson. I know a lot of people that would love to do something like that," Jennifer said.

"Well, what about you? You and I never got to work together." After saying it, he paused upon seeing Jennifer's eyes tear up. He often forgot the 'other' Carson was the one who recruited her and spent a few weeks working by her side.

"Carson!" Rodney barked immediately noticing Jennifer's expression.

"Sorry, love, I… Well…" The Scot was at a loss for words.

"It's fine, Carson, and I'd love to. I have a lot going on around here now, so it wouldn't be any time soon," Jennifer said smiling at him.

"You would? Why would you want to do that?" Rodney said sounding annoyed. _Anything could happen to her out there._ "You could catch some plague or get culled or..."

"And I've faced all those things here on Atlantis and worse, actually." Jennifer looked intently into his eyes. "I've always planned on doing Doctors without Borders or some other service project like that in my lifetime. I could do it in Pegasus just as well as on Earth."

"I had no idea you wanted to do that," the physicist said in surprise. _Jennifer wants to leave her research? _He assumed she wanted to do this forever like he did.

"I'm sure there are a lot of things you don't know about me," Jennifer smiled reaching out to squeeze his hand. Just then, a call came in from the infirmary, so the CMO got up to leave. She followed Rodney's queue from earlier and leaned over to give him a quick kiss even though everyone was around. "See you later, _honey_."

"Ew," John said laughing. Jennifer laughed too as she left with her food.

Rodney was so distracted by Jennifer's last comment that he only grunted and forced a smile. _I'm sure there are a lot of things you don't know about me.  
_

"I'm going to head out. Got a lot of work to do," Rodney said getting up quickly. Everyone noticed the change in his mood after Jennifer's departure.

Radek came to over to sit down, "Rodney, I have everything fixed with the sensors in the North quadrant…"

"Great. I'll check when I get to the lab," Rodney nodded to Sheppard and Ronon and turned away without a glance at Carson.

"Ach, that was a quick exit. I honestly didn't think asking Jennifer to take a month or two to join me was going to get Rodney so upset. He must know she loves him and that there's no reason to be jealous of me," Carson said in a confused voice.

"It's not jealousy," Ronon said.

"Oh," John said surprised. "Since when are you the relationship doctor, Chewie?"

"I know a thing or two about jealousy and McKay was not jealous of Carson. McKay was scared." Ronon saw Rodney watching Jennifer for over a year now, so he knew the various expressions on his friend's face.

"Why would her leaving with me scare him? She faces danger all the time," Carson asked feeling like he caused his friends some heartache with his idea.

"Now that he is finally with her after all this time the idea that she would leave Atlantis without him must be terrifying to him," Zelenka added

"I haven't been around much. Is it really that serious?" The doctor asked.

"Yes," John replied. "I know he wants to marry her."

"Marry?" Ronon was surprised. "The last time he tried that, it didn't turn out too good."

"I'm sure that's on his mind, too," Sheppard said. "Since I am the only one who has been married around here, I'd better offer some advice to our resident genius. I happen to like the new 'nice McKay' and will do what I can to keep him around."

Rodney had wandered back to his lab. Burying himself in his work always helped him forget in the past, but Jennifer had a different hold on him. _How can I plan a life for the two of us if I don't even know what she wants to do with hers?_

"McKay," John's voice echoed around Rodney's lab.

"What?" Rodney said trying to sound normal.

"I need to talk to you," his team leader said pulling a stool over to his friend.

The scientist swallowed and crossed his arms over his chest trying to look mildly interested in what his friend was going to say. "Fine."

"Since I am the only one who has been married around here and since I get the feeling you might be thinking about it, I feel I need to share a bit of wisdom," he began.

"No offense, but didn't you get divorced?" Rodney interrupted.

"Yes?"

"Well, you're not really one to give advice on a successful marriage are you?"

"I can tell you things I did wrong, so you don't follow in my footsteps," the Colonel shifted uncomfortably. Discussing Nancy was one of his least favorite subjects. "She and I rushed into our marriage. We never discussed the important stuff, like if we wanted kids, what we would do with our careers, what we thought a successful marriage was. A lot of boring, but really important stuff. I got the feeling in the mess hall when Jennifer told you she wanted to help people that you'd never heard her say that before. I got concerned that you were getting taken in by the sex and not thinking with your other head."

"Hey! I told you I don't kiss and tell."

"Hear me out. For the record, I don't want to hear about you and Jennifer's sex life. Although that thing with Jumper Three's cloak… You gotta tell me how you did it."

"You and the cloak. I have no idea what you are talking about. We didn't do it on the console!"

"Fine. If you say so, but the cloak went on and off several times." The pilot still wanted to know what McKay had done to the jumper. "Where was I? Oh, I remember now. After I realized we had a lot in common with regards to our approach to chasing women last week, I figured we might be the same when it came to talking with them about important stuff."

Rodney realized his friend had great insight into him after all. _Seems like I don't know John that well either._ "Yeah, Carson's question to Jennifer at breakfast did make me realize I don't really know her that well. It doesn't change the feeling that I want to spend the rest of my life with her, though. I can't imagine her telling me anything that might change that. Even if she wants tons of kids." Rodney could not hide the slight disgust at that thought.

"Kids are the least of your problems, McKay. What if she wanted to leave Atlantis?" The SGA-1 leader could tell he got his friend thinking more. "I just want to make sure you discuss this stuff because you'll never figure it out on your own. Now, I have a bit of insight into Jennifer's feelings and I think they are pretty strong. And I think the two of you are perfect for each other."

"How do you know about Jennifer's feelings?"

"She and I had a little conversation when we were together during the evacuations. I had to make sure she wasn't trying to… you know… _use_ you." John stood up uncomfortably and turned to leave a stunned, speechless McKay behind. "Hey, someone has to watch out for you. Can't have the most important person in Atlantis taken in by a pretty face."

The astrophysicist thought a long time about what Sheppard said and he was right. He needed to have a conversation about the really important stuff with Jennifer before he proposed. _Better change our plans for tonight._ Unfortunately, as soon as the thought entered his head, Radek came rushing in with another emergency.

* * *

Jennifer read an e-mail she got from Rodney, which arrived at before lunchtime.

**Sorry but can't make lunch. Too busy.**

**Need to talk tonight.**

**Love, Rodney**

_Need to talk. That does not sound like Rodney at all. What's going on? _The physician was pulled out of her office by another medical emergency and could not follow up with him. By the time she returned to her desk, it was already 1800 hours. She had a calendar invitation to meet Rodney in the largest of the greenhouses at 1900, so she had to run. The doctor was surprised by the location due to Rodney's allergies, but the romantic side of the scientist was unpredictable_. I can't believe he's so romantic. I never thought he'd be into moonlight and silk sheets and…_ Her thoughts trailed off as she thought of the physical side of his romantic nature. Considering they only made love twice, it amazed her that her body instantly reacted to the slightest thought of Rodney. She spent the last week in a state of heightened sexual arousal when he was near. Now that she was thinking about their date for the evening, those sensations returned with a vengeance. _I wonder if he walks around like this too. Well, I don't really have to wonder_, she thought with a big smile.

* * *

Rodney forgot he put an invitation on Jennifer's calendar for their date. When it was 1900, he went to her quarters to find them empty. They had both agreed to allow the other entry into their quarters since that had so little time together. _Where is she?_ The agitated man called her on the earwig only to notice it lying on her desk.

"Radek," he called his friend.

"Go ahead Rodney. Don't tell me you are still working," the Czech said in his familiar accent.

"Can you see where Jennifer is? She's not in her quarters."

"You know the scanners should only be used in times of emergency," Zelenka said with a smile in his voice.

"If you don't do this, you'll need emergency medical care, now hurry up."

"Well in order to save us all from the return of McKay the Obnoxious, I will find her for you."

"Very funny, Radek." He was preparing himself for this conversation all day and did not want any more delays.

* * *

Taking time to dress in a flower print sundress she borrowed from Amanda, Jennifer finally arrived in the greenhouse to find that Rodney was not there. Walking along the path, she came upon a beautiful site. Out a large window, she saw the sun starting to set over the water, just like the night of their first date. Its brilliant light filled the greenhouse reflecting off something in the grass on the edge of the path. She bent and picked up a large marquise diamond ring that looked a lot like an engagement ring. Her heart stopped and her knees weakened. Quickly falling onto a bench nearby she stared at it in shock. _Did Rodney leave this for me to find? Is this some funny way of him proposing?_ Her thoughts were interrupted by calls of her name from the man himself.

"Jennifer! Are you in here?" Rodney remembered once Radek told him where she was that he had sent her an invitation this morning. _Maybe she's not here yet._

"I'm over here Rodney. The view is beautiful," her sweet voice echoed down the path to him.

_Great. She found the view. Not where I wanted to talk about all this stuff, but here goes. _The nervous man quickly walked through the flowering plants and trees to find the woman he was looking for sitting on a bench with a huge smile on her face.

Jennifer decided to listen to Jeannie for once and not give everything away. She put the ring in the pocket of her dress and stood when Rodney came around the corner. It was impossible not to run to him and hug him because they saw so little of each other and because of what was in her pocket.

Once Jennifer slid her arms around Rodney's neck, pressing her body against his, his brain emptied of all conscious thought. His arms wrapped around her waist and their lips met each other half way. The moan of longing that came out of Jennifer's throat as her tongue slid into his mouth caused him to harden instantly. _Had it really been only a week? It felt like eternity._ Rodney slid his hands down to grasp her butt and pull her tightly against him as his own tongue slid into her mouth.

The aroused woman could not get close enough to him. Her hands unzipped his jacket pushing it from his shoulders forcing him to break contact to allow it to fall. When Rodney's masterful hands reached down to cup her buttocks and push her aching core against his erection a second time, she moaned again and slid one of her hands down between them to stroke him through his pants eliciting a groan. Her hands quickly found the button and zipper on his pants and one slid inside while the other stroked his back under the t-shirt. The sounds coming from the man she loved only turned her on more. The hand inside his pants worked its way under the elastic of his boxers and quickly found its goal.

Rodney's knees began to buckle when he felt Jennifer's skillful hands on his swollen member. "Ahhh! Jen…" He pulled his mouth away from hers to gulp in much needed oxygen. Her stroking of his aroused flesh was pushing him closer to another release in his pants. With a strength driven by desperation not to ruin their lovemaking again, he managed to pull her hand away.

The angry sound Jennifer made when he removed her hand from his pants was replaced by a gasp when he reached up to stroke a breast through the fabric of her dress. He captured her lips and pulled her tight so she could not get a hand between them again.

* * *

In the control room, Radek Zelenka's eyebrows disappeared under he bangs as he saw his friends in a very intimate embrace in the greenhouse. Jennifer was pushing Rodney's jacket off his shoulders and he was grabbing her… The flustered Czech quickly shut off the feeds coming from all cameras in the greenhouse and locked the doors so they would not get interrupted. The scientist realized he was going to have to remind his boss that the cameras installed all over Atlantis would record their actions.

* * *

Back in the greenhouse, the sounds coming from the two geniuses would make one think they stepped onto the set of a pornographic movie. Rodney shifted them slightly, so he could slide a hand down her leg and bunch up her dress. Once the material was high enough that he could feel her thigh, he slid his hand under the dress to stroke her butt through the fabric of her panties. His mouth left hers to blaze a trail across her jaw and down her throat, licking and sucking his way to the dress strap on her shoulder. His other hand, which was behind her back, continued to hold her close to prevent her hands from wrecking havoc with his plans.

As soon as Jennifer felt his hand on the back of her thigh, she had to grab his shoulders to support herself. "Rodney," she moaned trying to catch her breath because his hand just slid under the band of her panties starting to push them down. "Need… sit…can't… Ahh!" All thoughts left her as his hand left her panties part way down her leg to move up and cup her heated flesh. An expert finger quickly slid through her wetness causing a slight shudder to wrack her body and a cry of his name to leave her lips.

The power Rodney had over Jennifer's body was amazing to him and he got more confident each time they were together. Dragging her back to the small clearing he saw earlier, Rodney lowered her to the grass. "Sorry I don't have a blanket," he muttered as he quickly lay down next to her. He had to remove his hand to help maneuver her over because she only wanted to kiss and nibble at his neck, which was not helping.

One of Jennifer's skillful hands was suddenly back inside his pants causing him to cry out and roll onto his back. She shoved his boxers down and straddled him faster than he could say the first number in Pi. Her hand found his arousal again as she rained kisses on his lips, down his neck and, using her free hand to push his t-shirt up to give her access, his chest. Rodney had one hand buried in her hair and the other was pushing her dress strap down over her left shoulder. He was so close to coming, he could only moan, "S-s-stop. P-please."

Jennifer had a plan and Rodney's moans and cries were egging her on. She moved so she could push his pants down to his ankles. Not wanting to take time to remove them or to have him stop her, Jennifer quickly straddled his thighs and gripped him again.

Rodney was still reeling from what Jennifer's hand had done to his self-control. He growled in anger when she left him and lifted his head off the earth to see where she had gone, his hands trying to pull her back. A mischievous smile crossed the face of the woman he loved as she shoved his pants down his legs. Since he only had his t-shirt on and she was fully clothed, he felt _exposed_. "Jennifer maybe we should sl... Oh God!"

Jennifer leaned down and placed her lips firmly around Rodney's member. The sound and look of absolute shock on his face gave her the power to slide him further into her mouth. Her tongue licked around the tip tasting his essence. One hand continued to grip him at the base and the other slid up his thigh, over his hip and finally found one of his flailing hands. He quickly laced his fingers through hers and held on for dear life. Sliding him all the way into her mouth and stroking him with her tongue, Jennifer felt tremors pass through him. The realization that she would finally have to decide if she was going to 'spit or swallow' crossed her mind as she dismissed the prudish girl who had told friends that she would _never_ do anything like this. For Rodney, she would do anything.

Rodney did not want to come in her mouth. He really wanted to be inside her but the feeling of her hot, wet mouth sucking and licking him as no woman ever had before pushed him over the edge. He gripped her head with one hand and grabbed at the grass with the other having let go of Jennifer's hand for fear he would break it. Powerless to stop as the waves of orgasm overcame him, he emptied himself and cried out her name loudly before collapsing on the grass.

His responses to her actions turned her on like nothing before. A very satisfied Jennifer Keller lifted her head to look at the man she was going to marry only to realize he might not be conscious.

"Rodney!" She quickly moved to feel his pulse, which was racing. "Are you still there?"

"L-l-love you. N-n-never thought…felt… you didn't…" He could not get a coherent thought out of his mouth.

Jennifer decided now _was_ a good time to discuss the engagement ring she found. Slipping it out of her pocket and onto her right hand, since it was his job to put it on her left, she settled herself down next to him on the grass. Realizing he was entirely exposed, she slid her leg over his covering him with her dress and slid her right hand with the ring on it over his chest to feel his pounding heart.

After a few minutes, Rodney could think and feel again. His first feeling was of the woman he loved lying next to him. Shifting a bit, he slid his right arm around her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. His left hand came up to hold her right one only to feel something hard pressing into his palm. Lifting her hand, he saw the engagement ring he left in a box in his room. After his conversation with Sheppard he decided to postpone the proposal. _What was it doing on her finger?_ Rodney sat up causing Jennifer to follow him since he had her hand in a death grip.

"Yes, Rodney," Jennifer could not contain her smile or laughter any longer. "However, I would like a proper proposal and for you to put the ring on my other hand."

"How? Where? When did you…" Rodney broke off stunned. _How did she get the ring? Did I lose my mind entirely?_

Jennifer got up and looked at the man she loved sitting with his pants around his ankles. "Why don't you get dressed and I'll sit over there, so you can do this the right way?" _He's so cute when he's trying to be devious._

Since he was still recovering from his first blow job, he was slow to understand. _Pants? Oh, that's why my butt itches. I'm almost naked on the grass. Grass!_ Afraid of an allergic reaction, Rodney jumped to his feet. Since he had little blood left in the rest of his body, he swayed as dizziness washed over him. Jennifer saw this and moved her arms around him to support him.

"Well I am responsible for this," she grinned looking like someone who just won a Nobel Prize, "so I'll help you." Leaning down, she pulled his pants up until he could get them the rest of the way. Giving him a brief kiss on the lips, she stepped back to make sure he could stand on his own.

Thought was slowing returning to his super genius mind. _Did I just get blown by Jennifer in the greenhouse?_ "Oh my God! The cameras!"

"What?" Jennifer shrieked. It was bad enough John _knew_ what they had done in the jumper, but to have this broadcast to the security station. "Didn't you shut them off? Surely you would have expected us to make love after you proposed to me?"

"Proposed? I wasn't going to propose," Rodney was looking up to the ceiling hoping the camera was covered by the trees. His heart dropped to his knees when he saw a camera looking right down the path at them.

Jennifer stood rooted to the spot. Her eyes drifted to the diamond still on her right hand and back at Rodney who was looking for cameras. Tears pricked at the back of her eyes. "Rodney, what the hell is going on? You send me a request to meet you here, you act mischievous, you kiss me in front of everyone, you send an e-mail saying we need to talk and _then_ you leave a really big diamond lying in the grass for me to find."

The astrophysicist stopped to look at the face of the woman standing near him. Her beautiful face looked angry. _Angry, uh-oh! _ "Jennifer, I was going to propose, but…"

"Meredith Rodney McKay sit down. Now!" She said in her most commanding voice pointing to a bench not far from them. He complied without another word. Jennifer moved to stand in front of him. The big diamond ring was still on her right hand, which was now pointing in his face. "I am not Katie Brown and I won't let you get out of this."

"Katie?" Rodney said weakly swallowing loudly.

"Yes, Katie! You did tell me you were going to propose during that lock down, but you backed out. Of course, I'm happy you did, but I will not be a _repeat_ performance."

Not able to speak, Rodney shook his head.

"I love you and you love me. We are perfect for each other and you know it. So… I have to believe something happened between this morning and now," Jennifer's voice returned to normal as she professed their love for each other. Her facial expression changed from anger to understanding. "Is this because the conversation with Carson? Did that make you think I didn't love you or want to be with you?"

Rodney looked sheepish and his eyes drifted downward. "I realized I… that maybe… I realized that I didn't know you as well as I thought I did."

"You know I want to do some type of volunteer outreach some day. We talked about it the last time we were on 677 with the kids. Remember?" Jennifer knew she needed to be careful not to let her emotions run away with her._ Rodney responds best to logic and reasoning. Crying and screaming that they are made for each other will not work. Deep breaths to stay calm and you will not __**lose**__ him._

"The pediatrician thing?" Rodney said quietly. _Get a grip, McKay._ _Jennifer has not withdrawn like Katie when you said you didn't want to propose. She's much stronger than that._

"Yes. I said I'd love to be a pediatrician and just take care of kids. We talked about how you thought Doctors Without Borders was a great organization and that you even gave them money from time to time."

"I remember that. I just didn't link that to Carson," Rodney realized he did know all about her desire to give back to people.

"Is this some jealousy of Carson? Because you know we have been friends for years."

"No it's not about Carson. It's just… Well… We have not talked about the important stuff," he said quoting his best friend.

"The important stuff? You did not come up with this on your own. Who have you been talking to?" Jennifer had a suspicion it was a certain military colonel.

"You don't think I'm capable about thinking about marriage and our future?" Rodney was getting annoyed.

"I know you are, but I also know that you don't like to." Jennifer sat next to Rodney on the bench. "What else do we need to discuss?"

"Kids."

"You know I love kids and I know that you do too."

"No, I can't handle kids. You know that!"

"You should see the way you light up when you talk about Madison. She's your niece. Imagine your pride when your daughter wins a spelling bee in kindergarten or hearing her playing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star on the piano. Or when you son says his first word, like Torren did the other day. You were positively glowing! My recordings must have influenced him in the womb," she tried to copy his arrogant voice.

"But kids don't like me," he whined realizing Jennifer was absolutely correct about his love of Madison and Torren.

"Kids love an adorable grouch like you," Jennifer was laughing and smiling again. "What else is troubling you?"

"Jennifer!" Rodney suddenly grabbed her hands in his with terror on his face. "We haven't been doing anything to prevent you from getting pregnant!"

"Calm down. All women who agree to come here must take monthly shots of a really strong birth control. The IOA wants documented records every month. I'm not happy about it, but they say it is necessary. I mean you guys get condoms all the time too."

"I threw those out a long time ago. I thought it was silly. I didn't come here to get laid like Captain Kirk," Rodney relaxed. There was a tiny part of him that was annoyed that the IOA seemed to have forced itself into their love life.

"You mean you had sex with Katie and didn't know about the birth control shots?" Jennifer did not want to think about him and Katie having sex while she was lying in bed dreaming about him.

"Katie and I never had sex."

"You were together for a couple of years?"_ Never had sex? What was wrong with that woman?_

"We didn't date for two years. We really only dated after Carson," Rodney did not want to talk about this, but could tell from the amount of times Jennifer mentioned her that he had to. "My relationship with Katie was… It was nothing like us. You are my dream come true. Katie was… She was… better than nothing at all."

"Rodney," Jennifer hugged him. She could hear the loneliness in his voice. "I would have been there for you in a heartbeat. I practically threw myself at you during Carson's funeral."

"I was so upset about Carson and… Well I could not imagine that a woman as amazing as you would ever really be interested in me. I knew how upset you were, so I didn't want to take advantage of you," he said, holding Jennifer tight against him and burying his head in her hair.

"You would never do that. I loved you," she said against his chest. His heart was still racing, but his movements and voice were calm.

"Oh, I could have done it. Trust me," he chuckled. "Having a beautiful woman sobbing until she fell asleep in my arms was really, really tempting."

Jennifer raised her head and looked into the eyes of the man she hoped would be her husband. "So, what else do we need to talk about?"

"I honestly can't think of anything, but I'm sure there is a lot we need to," the scientist said staring into her beautiful brown eyes. Her face and golden hair were bathed in the final light cast by the setting sun making her appear angelic. Without another thought, the genius took her right hand and pulled off the ring. Dropping to the ground on one knee and taking her left hand, he began the most important speech he ever gave in his life.

Jennifer's heart was racing as she locked her eyes onto Rodney's face. Afraid she was going to pass out, she forced herself to focus on her breathing and the feel of the slightly rough, much larger hand that held hers.

"The day I first saw you in the Gateroom, I knew my life was going to be changed forever. You and I faced terrible tragedies right away and I would not have survived them without you. But I then ran away from you because I was afraid I could never really have you. It was a mistake I will never make again. You have been at my side as we faced Replicators and Wraith. Somehow during it all we became the best of friends," Rodney paused because he was getting choked up and speaking too fast. Jennifer already had tears welled up in her eyes. "Jennifer, you are my best friend. I know I don't deserve you and you deserve a lot better than me, but I love you with all my heart and want to spend the rest of my life with you. Jennifer Ann Keller, will you marry me?"

Tears flowed down Jennifer's face. It was the most beautiful thing he ever said to her. "Yes!"

Rodney let out the breath he was holding and slid the diamond on her left ring finger. As soon as it was in place, Jennifer launched herself at him. Her arms wrapped around his neck as his slid around her waist. Capturing her lips in a kiss that left them stunned and panting by the time they came up for air.

"We need to get out of here," Rodney breathed into Jennifer's ear as he nuzzled her neck.

"I agree. I'm already the star of one Atlantis Porno, I'd rather not be featured in another," Jennifer said between kisses on Rodney's neck.

"Oh! The cameras!" He pushed her back. "I need to take care of that first. I'll meet you in our quarters in fifteen minutes."

Jennifer knew it was important to get rid of that footage, but did not want to be away from him too long. She grabbed him and kissed him heartily on the lips, but pulled away quickly. "You better not be late!"

* * *

Rodney ran toward his lab. It was getting late and only Radek was still working.

"Radek."

"What are you doing here? Didn't you have a date with Jennifer?" Zelenka took in his bosses' appearance; messy hair, flushed cheeks and missing uniform jacket. _Must have remembered the cameras. _"Rodney."

"What?" said Rodney as he looked up from the console. "Oh, I was, ah, just going to run a diagnostic on the security system."

"In the botany labs?"

"What?" Rodney gulped.

"We have been having trouble with those cameras, so I took them off line a couple hours ago. Since they are not that important, I was going to look into it tomorrow morning."

Rodney cleared his throat. "You did? Good job, Radek."

John walked in at that moment and seeing Rodney in a t-shirt made him wonder what happened. "Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise?"

"What? No. Everything's fine. I forgot something important, but now I need to go," Rodney quickly walked past both men.

"Wait a minute," Sheppard said as he noticed something on McKay's t-shirt.

Because he was still slightly aroused and could not wait to get back to Jennifer, he barked, "What! I am off duty, so anything you have to say can wait until tomorrow."

"There's something on your shirt. It looks like…" John shook his head in disgust. "Grass stains. Now I can't go to the green house. I don't know what drugs you are giving that woman to make her want to jump you every chance she gets, but you really need to take it to a private place."

"I'm only going to say this once," McKay got in his best friend's face to speak, "Don't talk about my fiancé that way ever again."

"Fiancé?" Radek gulped.

The colonel raised an eyebrow. "She accepted?"

"Yes," _Wow, Jennifer is my fiancé._ A grin spread across his face.

"Congratulations, buddy," John pulled Rodney into a bear hug as a grin crossed his face. "I knew you could do it and I knew she'd say yes. We need to celebrate. Wait a minute. Did you _just_ propose?"

"Yeah, a few minutes ago."

"Then why are you in the lab?" John questioned. Rodney had a 'deer in the headlights' look on his face.

"Ah, I, ah," Rodney stammered. _What the hell am I going to say?_

Radek the faithful second in command jumped in, "I needed his password. I had to interrupt him."

"You interrupted them having sex in the greenhouse and he didn't kill you." Sheppard did not buy it.

"We did not have sex in the greenhouse!" Rodney needed to kill this rumor. It would hurt Jennifer to know she was being talked about like that.

"Really? You proposed and she just chastely kissed you. Where's your uniform jacket? I bet it's in the greenhouse," the SGA-1 team leader was loving the torment and fear on his friend's face. _He's lucky it didn't get caught on the cameras. Oh…_ "You came here to kill the video!"

"There was no video Colonel, the feeds were down most of the day from that area," Radek did not care about saving Rodney from humiliation. _It was good for him, but poor Jennifer did not need it. She was in for a nightmare of a time with her friends' opinions of her fiancé._

"Fine. Rodney, get the hell out of here!"

Rodney nodded to both men and John noticed the thankful look he gave Radek before he took off almost at a run up the hall.

"So?" John looked at Radek with raised eyebrows. "Did you kill all the feeds?"

"Of course, Colonel," Zelenka had a peculiar look in his eye, but Sheppard did not comment on the subject any further.

* * *

Jennifer ran to her quarters to get her latest package from Jeannie. She was saving it for a special occasion and this was it. Trying to walk slowly through the corridors without attracting attention was very hard, but she managed to get to _their_ quarters, as they began to call the room, without any problems. Once there, she lit candles and then pulled off her clothing while opening up the package.

"Oh, my. What did you do Jeannie?" Jennifer pulled out a very low-cut bright red baby doll with matching string panties. Even though she was alone, she turned as red as the lingerie. The thought of her future sister-in-law shopping for _this_ in a Victoria Secrets made her slightly nauseous. _Rodney's sister wanted her brother's girlfriend to wear this?_ Hearing the door chime, Jennifer pulled the top on and tried to lie seductively across the bed. The _clothing_ barely covered the hair at the apex of her thighs, but she really did not think Rodney would leave it on her for long.

Rodney had to swing by the greenhouse for his jacket, so it took longer than he wanted to get there. When he entered, he noticed candlelight around the bed. Moving around the screen, he stopped with his mouth open. Jennifer was lying across the bed in red lingerie causing his erection to form in record time.

"Jennifer?" he croaked out.

"Rodney, you have way too many clothes on," Jennifer tried to say seductively flipping her hair around and rising to her knees.

He began to shed his clothing on the way to the bed; jacket, boots, t-shirt, pants and boxers formed a trail to the bed. Standing naked except for his socks in front of, he reached out to slide his hands through her hair. "You look amazing!"

"This old thing. It was just lying around," Jennifer slid her arms around his shoulders pulling him close. His arms wrapped around her waist with his hands rubbing the satin material against her back. His arousal was almost even with her heated core, so with a little shifting on her behalf, it poked against her. She claimed Rodney's mouth quickly sliding her tongue into his mouth seeking his tongue.

When Rodney felt slick wetness pressing against him, he moaned and tore his mouth away from hers. "You don't have any underwear."

"They would only get ripped off anyways," Jennifer said kissing along his jaw and down his neck. Her hands were stoking his back.

His hands slid down and under the material to rub her butt and down her thighs eliciting some of the sounds Rodney loved to hear. Sliding one hand up under the satiny material to stroke her breast caused a deep moan of his name to escape her lips. He covered her mouth with his and pushed her back down on the bed, so he landed on top of her causing him to cry out. His member was now pressing against her entrance. It was a place he had wanted to be for almost a week. He leaned heavily on his elbows to keep from crushing her, but Jennifer wanted him as close as possible, so she shifted her hips increasing the pressure at her entrance.

"Jennifer. I want to go slow," Rodney moaned out as she slid her legs around the back of his thighs and pulled him deeper inside. "Ahhh. Slow down. Feels wonderful."

The physician had been aroused for hours and wanted a release. She knew they would have all night to take it slow. Right now she wanted the man who would be her husband to make love to her. "Rodney. I want you. Now!" She said grinding her hips against him feeling that first sensation of what was to come. "Ohh. Please."

Rodney did not need any more begging by the woman he loved. "We'll go slow." _Why the hell did you say that? You can't go slowly inside her. _Berating himself mentally, the genius opened his eyes to stare at her face trying to focus on her and ignore his aching need. "Jennifer. Look at me."

Opening her eyes, the CMO saw a look of adoration on her lover's face. Sliding her left hand around to his chest, her eye was caught on the diamond. Rodney must have noticed her eyes drifting to the ring because he shifted onto his left arm and slid his right hand up her arm to grasp her hand. He pulled it to his mouth and slowly took each finger into his mouth circling the tip with his tongue. The combination of his tongue moving on her fingertips and the movement of his flesh inside her started the familiar feelings in her lower abdomen to intensify.

Seeing her eyes widen and turn almost black in color, Rodney knew he was doing something right again. Taking her hand in his, he laced their fingers together and then leaned back down to give her a kiss. He kept their hands linked pressing them into the pillow next to her head. As he evened his weight back on both elbows and concentrated on deepening his strokes while keeping them slow.

His slow, deep strokes caused Jennifer to feel some new sensations. The climax that was building was unlike any before. It was slow to form and more intense. She could feel a release building throughout her body. Staring into his blue eyes she began to moan, "Rodney! Oh, Rodney."

Her expression and the sound of her voice drove the perfectionist in Rodney to continue to perform at his superior level. As her sounds became less recognizable, he knew he had the right rhythm and pressure to bring her to release.

"I love you, Jennifer McKay," he said as she began to spasm around him. Her hand was holding his so tight; he thought she might break it. Holding himself in check so he could watch her face and hear her cry out his name for what seemed like an eternity was difficult but worth it. The look of complete ecstasy on her face left an imagine Rodney would carry with him forever. Once she began to relax, Rodney shifted slightly to stroke a little harder. He tried to keep his eyes open to watch her face, which had a look of complete joy on it. As he came, his eyes slammed shut and he cried out, "Jennifer!"

Both of them were panting on the bed after their passionate lovemaking ended. Weakly lifting her left hand to watch the moonlight sparkle off the diamond, she found the strength to say, "Did you really lose the ring? It must have cost a few thousand dollars."

"A few thousand? Are you kidding? It's worth a lot more than that," Rodney mumbled because he was falling asleep with his future wife spooned securely against him.

"How much did it cost?"

"That is a horrible question to ask, Mrs McKay. Are you really that materialistic?"

Jennifer slapped his arm that was wrapped around her stomach. "No. I don't care how much it cost. I'm just trying to figure out how you could have been so careless with it."

"I've been wanting to propose since our first night together in this room. I thought we'd wait, but now I just want everyone to know you're mine."

"Possessive aren't we. Hhmm?" Jennifer made a puzzled sound.

"What are you hhmm-ing about?"

"Just trying to figure out how to brand you, so no one else will touch you."

"What?" All sleep left the terrified man. She was a doctor after all. He was sure she could carry through with her thoughts.

"Don't worry about it. I won't implant anything into you while you are sleeping. But if you try to back out of the wedding like you did the engagement, all bets are off," Jennifer said snuggling into his arms with a big smile on her face. "Good night, Rodney. I love you."

Rodney was staring at the back of her head. "You're joking, right? Jennifer?"

* * *

**A/N I have at least one more of these in mind, which would be the wedding night. Please let me know if you still like the story.**


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